(NBC)
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a government database of more than one million people identified as “known or suspected terrorists,” violates the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens who were added to the list by denying them due process.
Almost two dozen Muslim American citizens who were placed on a watchlist, known as the Terrorist Screening Database, filed suit along with the Council on American-Islamic Relations against the government saying they were wrongly included in the database and that the process for adding names is overbroad and riddled with errors.
Many on the list, which is maintained by the FBI and shared with a variety of federal agencies, said they were subjected to frequent and sometimes invasive screenings while traveling which have led to “adverse experiences and consequences,” including being handcuffed at border crossings. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ruled that the travel difficulties faced by plaintiffs who were on the list are significant and that they have a right to due process when their constitutional rights are infringed. Read more