ACLU calls for changes in the terrorist watch list

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held a press conference today for the terrorist watch list hitting one million names. The list ACLU is calling for Congress to take action on this list but adding due process, a right to access and challenge data upon which listing is based, tight criteria for adding names to the lists, and rigorous procedures for updating and cleansing names from the list.

“America’s new million record watch list is a perfect symbol for what’s wrong with this administration’s approach to security: it’s unfair, out-of-control, a waste of resources, treats the rights of the innocent as an afterthought, and is a very real impediment in the lives of million of travelers in this country,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program.

The Inspector General of the Justice Department reported in Sept. 2007 that the Terrorist Screening Center had over 700,000 names as of April and said that the list was growing by an average of 20,000 names per month. Working off that average the ACLU has predicted that today the list would reach one million names.

The watch list has become long and “bloated” naming several individuals who are probably not terrorists, Steinhardt said. Nelson Mandela, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was on the watch list and only recently removed after and act by Congress, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) was also on the list causing him trouble and delays when flying, he said.

The ACLU is also calling for the Bush Administration or the next one to issue and executive order requiring the lists to be reviewed and limited to only those for whom there is credible evidence of terrorist ties or activities.