Airport racial profiling in the United States

Airport racial profiling in the United Statesis U.S. government activity directed at asuspector group of suspects because of theirraceorethnicity.UnderFourth Amendmentanalysis, objective factors measure whetherlaw enforcementaction is constitutional, and under the Fourteenth Amendment challenges to the practice are assessed under the customarystrict scrutinytest forracial classifications.

SinceSeptember 11, 2001,there have been reports on increases inracial profilingatairports,particularly targeting people whoappear to be Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent.It has been a routine practice by law enforcement officials to stop individuals who are profiled because of their race and religious and ethnic appearance or who may appear to be "suspicious".

Background

In the weeks following September 11, 2001,federal,state and local law enforcement officials investigated those responsible for the September 11 attacks during which nearly 3,000 people died. They assessed the United States's vulnerability to future acts ofterrorism.Investigations showed the suspects of the crime to be of Middle Eastern origin.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, US officials responded to the fears of air travelers by reinforcingsecurity.Despite more thorough investigation ofbaggageand increased security staffing, there were so many vast open spaces, exits and entrances at airport hubs that prevention of incidents was problematic.

Los Angeles International Airportwas recently found to be the most vulnerable to infiltration in the US when it comes to smuggling weapons.Knives,guns,andexplosivescarried by federal undercover inspectors were missed by LA International airport screeners at checkpoints 41% of the time in an airport security test. The test, which checked security at America's 32 biggest airports, was carried out in June 2002 by theTransportation Security Administration(TSA), which assumed responsibility for airport security.

Criticism

A 2009 study published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesasserted that, due to terrorists being vastly outnumbered by innocents, racial profiling is no more effective than random profiling.It has also been claimed that any form of profiling is less secure than random profiling, because a terrorist cell can simply have a number of members go through airport security, until one is reliably not profiled, then use that individual to perform an attack.None of the 19 successful hijackers in theSeptember 11 attackswere reported or even remembered by checkpoint supervisors.

Michael Kinsleyasked in a 2001 article forSlatemagazine if a rational reason exists to single outArabic-looking men at airport.

King Downing, the national coordinator of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union's Campaign Against Airport Racial Profiling, says he was the victim of profiling by police atLogan International AirportinBoston,MA. He was going to the federal court to challenge a screening technique used around the country that looks at suspicious behavior patterns to identify potential terrorists.Downing alleges he was stopped and questioned bystate policeafter arriving on a flight to attend a meeting on racial profiling. He has sued theMassachusetts Port Authority,which operates the airport, and theMassachusetts State Police,citing they violated hisconstitutional rights.Downing, who is black and wears a short beard, believes he was targeted because of his race. In hislawsuit,Downing alleges the behavioral screening system used at Logan Airport encourages racial profiling. His lawsuit also seeks a ruling to declare airport racial profiling as unconstitutional.

In 2002, after the September 11 attack on the US, Logan Airport began a program called "Behavior Assessment Screening System" which allows police to question passengers whose behavior appears to be "suspicious". Logan was the first airport in the country to use the system.The plausibility of any benefit from "Behavior Assessment" has been questioned in a 2012 study by G. Stuart Mendenhall and Mark Schmidhofer of theCato Institute.

Legality

The Fourth Amendment provides that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated". In its 1968 Fourth Amendment ruling,Terry v. Ohio,theU.S. Supreme Courtfound that reasonable, articulable suspicion was sufficient grounds for a police officer to briefly stop and question a citizen. They ruled that such suspicion must not be based on the officer's "inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or 'hunch,' but on the specific reasonable inferences which he is entitled to draw from the facts in light of his experience." Terry v. Ohio employed a "totality of circumstances" test to determine the reasonableness of police investigatory stops.

US support

TheObama administration's decision to heighten airport security for passengers while traveling to the US from 14 nations triggered a backlash of complaints from Muslim andprivacygroupswho say PresidentBarack Obama's response to terror threats amounted to little more than racial profiling.

Frank Cilluffo, former special assistant for Homeland Security under then-PresidentGeorge W. Bush,said "airports need to be 'profiling' based on behavior even though it's a 'dirty word.'"

A 2010 poll byUSA Todayshowed Americans were in favor of more intensive security check for people who fit a profile of a terrorist based on age, ethnicity and gender.

See also

• Flying imams incident
• Flying while Muslim
• Islamophobia in the United States
• Racial profiling in the United States
• September 11 attacks
• Detention and search of Indian VIPs at US airports