What is the terrorist watch list? After 9/11, the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) was created through a Presidential Directive to be administered by the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, in cooperation with the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State and Treasury, and the Central Intelligence Agency. International criminal information that originates with foreign governments, especially lost and stolen passports, is provided by INTERPOL.
The purpose of the Terrorist Screening Center is to consolidate terrorism based watch lists into a central database and make that data available for use in screening. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies nominate individuals to be put on the watch list based on established criteria.
Two subset lists are the “No Fly” list and “Selectee” list.
- The “No Fly” list includes individuals who are prohibited from boarding an aircraft. You are NOT on the No Fly list if you receive a boarding pass.
- The “Selectee” list includes individuals who must undergo additional security screening before being permitted to board an aircraft.
How do I know if I am on a Government Watch List? The U.S. government does not reveal whether a particular person is on the terrorist watch list, which is administered by the Terrorist Screening Center. If the government revealed who was on the terrorist watch list, terrorist organizations would be able to circumvent its purpose by determining in advance which of their members are likely to be questioned or detained. More information on the Terrorist Screening Center.
Many people are erroneously told or led to believe that they are on a watch list during a screening process, when in fact they are merely experiencing a delay caused by a name similarity to a person who is on the watch list. DHS TRIP can help resolve these inconveniences.
What factors are used to determine if someone is selected for secondary screening? Many factors are considered, specifics of which cannot be provided without revealing information vital to our homeland security.
If you have been sent for secondary screening without any apparent cause and if this happened on more than one occasion, you can use DHS TRIP to correct any discrepancies that may have occurred in our records and to resolve misidentification issues.
