The New York Times published a lengthy but deeply flawed report last week, “Airlines Refused to Collect Passenger Data That Could Aid Coronavirus Fight.” Here’s the lede: For 15 years, the U.S. government has been pressing airlines to prepare for a possible pandemic by collecting passengers’ contact information so that public-health authorities could track down […]
On March 26, 2020, the World Economic Forum published specifications and launched a new website for a project it has christened “Known Travel Digital Identity” (KTDI): World Economic Forum KTDI project page (with links and list of partners) KTDI.org March 2020 KTDI specifications 2019 KTDI video on Vimeo 2018 KTDI video on Youtube Marriot / […]
We’ve been trying for years to find out what the real story is with respect to ID requirements for travel by train, especially on Amtrak. Amtrak and Greyhound ID policies and practices are of paramount importance to the mobility of undocumented people and people who, whether or not they are eligible for or have chosen […]
Francisco Erwin Galicia, an 18-year-old Dallas-born U.S. citizen, was detained by US Customs and Border protection officers at a checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, on June 27th, while on his way to a youth soccer event with a group of relatives and friends, and held until July 23rd. He was held incommunicado for the first several […]
As part of a flurry of overdue year-end responses to our Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we’ve gotten some curious messages about Federal government funding for SPEXS, the national database of drivers’ license and state ID-card data being created — with no apparent consideration of its impact on privacy and civil liberties — to […]
In a speech this week in Florida, President Trump falsely claimed that, “You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID. You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID and you need your picture.” Some commentators have expressed […]
The encouraging disclosure in the latest installment of documents released by Amtrak in response to one of our Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests is that some travel agents resisted Amtrak demands that they collaborate in surveillance, profiling, and control of train travelers by entering passport or ID numbers and details in each reservation for cross-border Amtrak travel. […]
In May and June of 2017, several new FAQs about “requirements” for travel on common-carrier airlines were posted on TSA.gov and DHS.gov: “Identification” (TSA.gov) “Frequently Asked Questions: REAL ID” (TSA.gov) “REAL ID and Air Travel” (TSA.gov) “REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions for the Public” (DHS.gov) Statements about current and future ID “requirements” similar to those […]
On average, 77,000 people each year — more than 200 a day — pass through TSA checkpoints to board airline flights in the USA without showing ID. Ninety-eight percent of the would-be travelers who show up at TSA checkpoints without ID are allowed to board their flights. Only two percent are turned back. The average […]
Earlier this week at least two US Customs and Border Protection officers boarded a domestic Delta Air Lines flight from San Francisco when it arrived at JFK Airport in New York, stood at the doorway as passengers disembarked, and “requested” that each passenger hand over their identification “documents”. CBP says that this was a “request“. […]