The no fly list - people in the U.S. who are considered security risks are not allowed normal access to air travel

Progressive, The, June, 2002 by Matthew Rothschild

Alia Kate, sixteen, a high school student in Milwaukee, wanted to go to Washington, D.C., for the protests Saturday, April 20. She was looking forward to demonstrating against the School of the Americas and learning how to lobby against U.S. aid for Colombia.

She had an airplane ticket for a 6:55 P.M. flight out of Milwaukee on Friday, April 19, and she got to the airport two hours ahead of time. But she didn't make it onto the Midwest Express flight.

Neither did many other Wisconsin activists who were supposed to be on board. Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies pulled aside and questioned twenty of the thirty-seven members of the Peace Action Milwaukee group--including a priest and a nun. The travelers were not cleared in time for takeoff and had to leave the next morning, missing many of the events.

What tripped them up was a computerized "No Fly Watch List" the federal government now supplies to all the airlines. The existence of this No Fly list was confirmed by members of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, Midwest Express, the New York Port Authority, and the Department of Transportation. The airlines today are required to cross-check their passenger lists against this No Fly list.

"The name or names of people in that group came up on a watch list that is provided through the federal government and is provided for everyone who flies," says Sergeant Chuck Coughlin of the Milwaukee sheriff's department. "The computer checks for exact matches, similar spellings, and aliases."

The list "came from Washington," says Special Agent Barry Babler, the FBI's media rep in Milwaukee. "It's been in place several months, and it's distributed to all airports. It's the responsibility of those who have security duties at the airport to check that list against passenger manifests. When someone's name turns up on the Watch List, the sheriff or the Marshals do an investigation, and we're notified."

Babler says there actually were two No Fly lists. "The initial one had a number of names on it--people who might have had involvements in the hijackings, aliases of people involved, or people who might have had contact with, or knowledge of, them. Subsequently, another Watch List was put out." Babler says he can't comment about why a particular name may appear on the new list.

Who puts the list together?

A spokesperson for the FBI in Washington, Steve Berry, would not comment at all on the issue of the No Fly list. He referred all questions to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a new wing of the Department of Transportation.

"It's something that's produced by the TSA," says Steve Coleman, a spokesperson for the New York Port Authority.

The TSA was established by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which President Bush signed into law on November 19. Media coverage focused on federalizing the security personnel at airports. But other aspects of the law received little scrutiny. This law establishes a new position, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security, and puts that person in charge of airline security. Today, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security is John W. Magaw, who previously served as director of the Secret Service and director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

In his current post, Magaw has tremendous discretion. Under "emergency procedures," the law says, "if the Under Secretary determines that a regulation or security directive must be issued immediately in order to protect transportation security, the Under Secretary shall issue the regulation or security directive without providing notice or an opportunity for comment and without prior approval of the Secretary."

As part of his regular duties, the Under Secretary is empowered by the law to "establish policies and procedures requiring air carriers to use information from government agencies to identify individuals on passenger lists who may be a threat to civil aviation and, if such an individual is identified, to notify appropriate law enforcement agencies and prohibit the individual from boarding an aircraft."

The TSA has taken that power and run with it. In testimony before Congress on January 23, Magaw said that "computers will screen passengers," and "the new security system will be robust and redundant."

Dennis Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, is outraged about the treatment of the Milwaukee activists. "Databases are being organized, including the names of totally innocent individuals who are being subject to question based on their political views. In a democracy, that is not acceptable," he says. Kucinich, the ranking Democrat on a national security subcommittee, vows to investigate. "I take this very seriously," he says.

Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, also is concerned. "I plan to ask FBI Director Robert Mueller about the creation and implementation of the so-called No Fly lists," Feingold says. "It is important that security measures do not unduly infringe on our civil liberties."