-Source-Daily Republic-
Civil rights groups and lawmakers are demanding that the Transportation Security Administration explain a program that tasks federal air marshals at airports and on domestic flights with monitoring Americans who have committed no crimes.
The program, called Quiet Skies, was first reported by the Boston Globe and is described as an effort by air marshals to prevent terrorism by conducting surveillance on U.S. citizens who get the attention of the marshals by fidgeting, sweating, trembling, staring or exhibiting other suspicious behavior.
The American Civil Liberties Union demanded Monday that the TSA provide more information on the program, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the TSA to drop the program, saying that it may “single out law-abiding Muslim travelers for official harassment.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, wrote to the TSA on Tuesday, asking the agency to explain the legal justification for the program.
“Does TSA believe it has authority to collect intelligence, including on U.S. citizens, and if so, from where does it derive such authority?” according to the letter sent Tuesday to TSA administrator David Pekoske.
The ACLU said it plans to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the TSA this week to learn more about the program. Read more
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