Posted on 08/15/2005 1:36:54 PM PDT by Sax
WASHINGTON - Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the U.S. because their names are the same as or similar to those of possible terrorists on the government's "no-fly list."
It sounds like a joke, but it's not funny to parents who miss flights while scrambling to have babies' passports and other documents faxed.
Ingrid Sanden's 1-year-old daughter was stopped in Phoenix before boarding a flight home to Washington at Thanksgiving.
"I completely understand the war on terrorism, and I completely understand people wanting to be safe when they fly," Sanden said. "But focusing the target a little bit is probably a better use of resources."
The government's lists of people who are either barred from flying or require extra scrutiny before being allowed to board airplanes grew markedly since the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn't provide enough information about the people on the lists, so innocent passengers can be caught up in the security sweep if they happen to have the same name as someone on the lists.
That can happen even if the person happens to be an infant like Sanden's daughter. (Children under 2 don't need tickets but Sanden purchased one for her daughter to ensure she had a seat.)
"It was bizarre," Sanden said. "I was hugely pregnant, and I was like, 'We look really threatening.'"
Sarah Zapolsky and her husband had a similar experience last month while departing from Dulles International Airport outside Washington. An airline ticket agent told them their 11-month-old son was on the government list.
They were able to board their flight after ticket agents took a half-hour to fax her son's passport and fill out paperwork.
"I understand that security is important," Zapolsky said. "But if they're just guessing, and we have to give up our passport to prove that our 11-month-old is not a terrorist, it's a waste of their time."
Well-known people like Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), Rep. John Lewis (news, bio, voting record), D-Ga., and David Nelson, who starred in the sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," also have been stopped at airports because their names match those on the lists.
The government has sought to improve its process for checking passengers since the Sept. 11 attacks. The first attempt was scuttled because of fears the government would have access to too much personal information. A new version, called Secure Flight, is being crafted.
But for now, airlines still have the duty to check passengers' names against those supplied by the government. That job has become more difficult — since the 2001 attacks the lists have swelled from a dozen or so names to more than 100,000 names, according to people in the aviation industry who are familiar with the issue. They asked not to be identified by name because the exact number is restricted information.
Not all those names are accompanied by biographical information that can more closely identify the suspected terrorists. That can create problems for people who reserve flights under such names as "T Kennedy" or "David Nelson."
ACLU lawyer Tim Sparapani said the problem of babies stopped by the no-fly list illustrates some of the reasons the lists don't work.
"There's no oversight over the names," Sparapani said. "We know names are added hastily, and when you have a name-based system you don't focus on solid intelligence leads. You focus on names that are similar to those that might be suspicious."
The Transportation Security Administration, which administers the lists, instructs airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 — or select them for extra security checks — even if their names match those on a list.
But it happens anyway. Debby McElroy, president of the Regional Airline Association, said: "Our information indicates it happens at every major airport."
The TSA has a "passenger ombudsman" who will investigate individual claims from passengers who say they are mistakenly on the lists. TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said 89 children have submitted their names to the ombudsman. Of those, 14 are under the age of 2.
If the ombudsman determines an individual should not be stopped, additional information on that person is included on the list so he or she is not stopped the next time they fly.
Clark said even with the problems the lists are essential to keeping airline passengers safe.
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Just ban everyone named "Mohammed."
If the baby is named Osama Muhammad Hussein, I don't want it or (especially) its evil parents to ever set foot in my country.
I wonder what her daughter's name was?
LOL! I love that cartoon. :)
These babies with terrorist-sounding names are just doing the jobs that real Americans won't do. Oh, you know somebody had to say it. ;)
A 1-month old daughter and she is pregnant already? She didn't waste any time.
Those government screeners sure are diligent. There's no way the private sector should be allowed to screen passengers.
Like they really expect a terrorist to travel under their real name?............Osama Bin Laden? Aisle seat or window?..........
As God is my witness, I thought babies could fly....
Won't be long before they start on the uborn......are they going to start asking pregnant women for pictures from their ultrasounds to prove the baby isn't a terrorist?
Now that would be impressive. I believe the daughter was one year old.
Yeah, I misread it.
Adolph Hitler Schmidt was a popular name in 1942.
Still the daughter was just one year old and she describes herself as "hugely" pregnant, so she and her husband weren't wasting much time.
While I was doing that, the airline personnel start checking in our bags (curbside check-in) and processing us. Well my name, which is fairly common, turns up on a no-fly list.
The guy tells my wife that it could be a problem, then says "Nah!" and process all our boarding passes, before I even get there. When I showed up, we just proceeded to the gate.
Nobody asked me to produce any ID until I was going through the metal detector, and then it was only to compare my name to the name on the boarding pass. There was no additional runs against any "no fly" list and I was not subjected to any search of my person beyond stepping through the metal detector.
I really appreciated the fact that I got breezed through even though my name showed up on the "no fly" list, but I would have been absolutely ecstatic about it had I really been a terrorist toting some plastic explosives.
Sort of like when I went through a local airport with my friend's ticket by accident? The mistake wasn't discovered until a different screener found him with my name on his ticket. When we realized what had happened (the tickets were just switched by accident), it was a moment of laughter about the absurdity of it, and then a hush of silence as we realized that my ticket could have identified me as Mohammed Atta and I'd have made it on the plane.
"Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the U.S. because their names are the same as or similar to those of possible terrorists"
Sorry Ingrid, but your personal convenience does not outweigh everyone else's safety. Here's a tip: if you've got a passport or other photo identification for your children, bring it along to the airport with you. A lot of us have been doing that for almost four years now to avoid hassles just like that.
I saw a very similar incident just this weekend. I was returning from Newark to Tampa and a family with a 12 year old boy was being told the boy could not fly as he was on the no fly list. The family had no identification for the boy and they were likely to miss their flight while trying to sort it out.
The airline people told them their hands were tied as it was federal regulations they were following.
Wasn't able to stay around to see the outcome, but doubt if it was successful for them.
Both of whom, I'm sure, voted to have the government assume the role of 'airport screener'. I'm glad they got stopped. Anyone who voted for that should get stopped. . .and strip searched.
I don't understand it either. Explain it to me. How is it possible that the one-year old really would be the person they are looking for who is on the watch list? And if it's not possible for it to be the same person why are they wasting their time?
Uh, 1 year old. But you're right, if she was 'hugely pregnant' she didn't waste much time.
Well let that be a lesson to you never to handle tickets from "friends" named Mohammad.
Sounds like she might be related to Kelly Ripa.
Your government at work.
The image of some poor security person strip searching Senator Kennedy is too awful for words....
You now need a passport and photo ID for a one-year old infant to travel within the United States? Just who exactly would a one-year old be impersonating that a passport or photo ID would be needed to clear up his/her identity? Are you insane?
How does a guy named David Nelson wind up on this list? I'm just pulling numbers out of the air but I'd guess there have to be at least 10,000 men with this name in the United States.
How does detaining a one-year old increase anyone's safety?
> Sorry Ingrid, but your personal convenience
> does not outweigh everyone else's safety.
And how did preventing a one year-old from getting on the plane enhance "everyone else's safety", pray tell?
Sheesh! Could it be that you have sued the living daylights out of anyone who dares list any information other than a name??
Can't list their hair color; that would offend the United Brotherhood of Blond People (UBBP)
Can't list their eye color; the People's Federation of Hazel Humans (PFHH) would certainly object.
Height? Weight? Heck no! You'd quickly find yourself at the wrong end of a discrimination lawsuit from the Society of Vertically Impaired Americans (SVIA) or the National Organization of Large Folks (NOLF), take your pick.
Of course, the most insanely Homer Simpson-D'OH-Hit-Yourself-In-The-Forehead obvious piece of supplemental information that should be used has long since gone the way of PFHH: race.
"I've got your passport right here, government stooge!"
Here's one of the watch lists. Lots of common names on it. No Nelson. Mostly Arabic names.
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sanctions/t11ter.pdf
Here's a better list in alphabetical order.
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf
I don't see the problem.
H&ll those people ARE terrorscum!!!
I have a problem even at Walmart with my celebrity name. I can only imagine if I had to go through airport security... think I'll continue to drive, thank you very much.
So what? I've done that myself, twice...
;^)
KARLA MARX or FIDELA CASTRO, perhaps???
Their TV was broke?? Hey, it happens!! /sc
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