ACLU Challenges Government on "No-Fly" List that Targets Innocent Citizens

Interview with Catherine Kim, American Civil Liberties Union attorney, conducted by Scott Harris

Since the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., the U.S. government has compiled a list of thousands of individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. At U.S. airports large and small, this list maintained by the Transportation Security Administration or TSA, has been used to detain and prevent these individuals from boarding commercial airliners. But many innocent passengers with names similar or identical to the names on the "No-Fly" list have also been interrogated, searched and prevented from flying.

Now, the American Civil Liberties Union, representing seven U.S. citizens, has filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the regulations governing the "No-Fly" list. The ACLU is demanding that the TSA remove innocent passengers' names from the list so that these citizens can fly without being detained or harassed.

The airline passengers represented in the suit include a 36-year-old U.S. Air Force master sergeant, a 22-year-old Vermont college student and a 74-year-old minister from Washington state. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Catherine Kim an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's national legal department, who discusses details of the lawsuit, including the charge that some on the "No Fly" list may have had their names placed there due to their political activities.

Contact the ACLU by calling (212) 549-2500 or visit their website at: www.aclu.org where you can report incidents involving your own experiences dealing with the "No-Fly" list.

Related links:


Center for Constitutional Rights

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