US government announces changes to airport screening rules

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday announced changes to airport security rules, moving toward a screening system based on intelligence information. The new policy replaces he mandatory screening — including full-body pat downs — that was hastily set up in January. Citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Yemen, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria have also been subjected to extra checks of their carry-on baggage before boarding planes for the United States. . But it also expands the pool of foreign travelers targeted for extra screening beyond those whose names are on a U.S. terror watch list.

The changes, announced Friday by the Homeland Security Department, come after a three-month review of counterterrorism policies ordered by President Barack Obama in the wake of the near-miss attack. The system, which will be put in place this month, applies only to travelers flying into the United States.

Under the refined policy, a person traveling to the U.S. would be stopped if he or she fits a specific description of a potential terrorist provided by U.S. intelligence officials — even if the suspect’s name is unknown.

Currently, passengers’ names are compared to names on U.S. terror watch lists. If air carriers have a potential match to a watch list, the passenger is either banned from flying to the U.S. or subjected to extra screening such as a full-body pat-down before boarding the airplane.

For example, if the U.S. has intelligence about a Nigerian man between the ages of 22 and 32 whom officials believe is a threat or a known terrorist, under the new policy all Nigerian men within that age range would receive extra screening before they are allowed to fly to the U.S. If intelligence later shows that the suspect is not a terrorist, the extra screening for others matching the description would be lifted.

Or, if terrorist groups are recruiting college-age men who have spent time in Asia and have been to the Middle East, that type of travel pattern would raise a flag to officials at international airports.

“It is much more surgically targeting those individuals we are concerned about and have intelligence for,” the administration official said, speaking to a small group of reporters at a White House briefing on Thursday afternoon. The official added: “This is not a system that can be called profiling in the traditional sense. It is intelligence-based.”

An official dismissed suggestions that the intelligence-based system of extra security could be considered profiling.

“We’re talking about different features, characteristics, attributes of individuals who reportedly are trying to carry out terrorist attacks,” the official said. “We’re trying to match those intelligence indicators to the people who are trying to come to the United States.”

The revamped screening effort will mean enhanced security at international
checkpoints, using advanced imaging technology, canine teams, pat-downs,
and explosives detection as well.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said the new system will apply to all air carriers with international flights to the US, and is more effecting at stopping terrorist threats:

These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats. The terrorist threat to global aviation is a shared challenge and ensuring aviation security is a shared responsibility. I commend our many partners around the world who have taken steps to increase their own security measures through deployment of new technology, enhanced information sharing and stronger standards to keep air travel safe.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) praised the new policy as a move away from racial profiling, calling it a step in the right direction. However:

“We’re discouraged that DHS will continue to rely on bloated and ineffective watch lists. Until the watch lists are scrubbed clean of innocent Americans, we cannot say our rights are truly protected in the air.”

Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights advocacy group in Washington, calls this kind of approach “good law enforcement.”

“We’re glad the administration is moving in the direction of looking for actual suspicious behavior and not looking for religion or ethnicity.… It seems like they’ve reacted appropriately,” Mr. Hooper said by phone Friday.

Read the Surface Transportation Security Priority Assessment here.