In a preliminary ruling in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU three years ago on behalf of a group of people who have been prevented by the U.S. government from traveling by air, a Federal judge in Oregon has found (1) that international air travel is a Constitutional right, and (2) that a categorical ban […]
An individual who used our forms to ask the DHS for its records about their travel has received response of a sort that we haven’t previously seen to a request of this sort: a “Glomar” response that the DHS will neither confirm nor deny that there are any records about the requester in the DHS […]
After extensive negotiations, we were given permission to record audio (but not video or still photographs) of the formal hearing conducted in Portland. OR, on May 14, 2013, in the matter of “Naked American Hero” John Brennan. Linked below are audio recordings of the entirety of the hearing: Dramatis Personae other than witnesses (in order […]
Does nudity “interfere” with TSA “screening”? That will be the issue at a hearing before TSA “Administrative Law Judge” George J. Jordan on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 in Portland, OR, in the matter of “Naked American Hero” John Brennan, who exercised his First Amendment right to express his political opinion by taking off all his […]
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff said repeatedly in public speeches that government “no-fly” orders should not be subject to judicial review, and that has remained the position of the Obama Administration whenever the issue has been raised in lawsuits by people who have been prevented from flying. Rather than defend its decisions in the […]
The lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) which has forced the TSA to allow public “comment” on TSA use of “virtual strip-search machines” (on the basis of a “petition for rulemaking” originally submitted years ago by groups including the Identity Project) is only one of the cases by individuals and organizations seeking to […]
Earlier this month, the TSA announced that — although of course there are still no rules for what is and isn’t permitted at TSA checkpoints, travelers can expect that beginning April 25th we will be “permitted” (not entitled, “permitted”, since of course the exercise of our right to travel is at the TSA’s discretion) to […]
When last we wrote about Saadiq Long — an Oklahoma native, U.S. citizen, and Air Force veteran — he had been sentenced by the U.S. government, without judge or jury, to life without air travel. First he was prevented from returning to the U.S. to visit his ailing mother. Then he was prevented from returning […]
We’ve been waiting for years for responses to some of our FOIA requests to the TSA and DHS, including a request for records of what happened to our earlier FOIA requests that were subjected to a special program of political review and reporting to the White House, a request for records that were previously improperly […]
The TSA published a revised System of Records Notice in the Federal Register on November 19th, updating its disclosures of what information about our “travel histories” it collects, retains, and uses through its Secure Flight program for airline passenger surveillance and control. The new notice is both better and worse than it might appear at […]