For years, the
Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has denied racial profiling in airports by
saying they stop passengers at random or based on behavior not appearance. The TSA has never released a list of suspicious behaviors that qualify someone for a secondary screening, but
airport officials have said suspicious activity includes loitering without luggage, wearing heavy clothes on a hot day and watching security methods at the airport. Yesterday the
NY Times reported citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, who are flying to the United States will automatically be subjected to more thorough "intensified screenings." The Obama administration and the Department of Homeland security are trying to tell folks this isn't racial profiling. However, anyone with a passport from the 14 nations on the list, or taking flights that originated or passed through any of them, will be required to undergo a full-body pat downs and will face extra scrutiny of their carry-on bags before they can board planes to the United States. Citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen — will automatically face additional screenings, officials said.
