Washington, DC – Once again the federal government is expanding its collection of data on innocent travelers, the American Civil Liberties Union said today, with the Department of Homeland Security creating dossiers of travelers who pass through U.S. border checkpoints, maintain these files for 15 years, and share this data broadly – including providing access to courts and attorneys in civil litigation like divorce proceedings.
“Our government is not supposed to collect information on the innocent activities and movements of its citizens just in case they later commit a crime,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program. “This program illustrates why America needs more robust and across-the-board privacy laws.”
The DHS policy, which was reported by the Washington Post today, requires travelers at the border to present either a passport or both a drivers license and a birth certificate. The Customs and Border Protection agents scan information from travelers and store it on a database.
“The Customs and Border Protection Agency function is taking the approach that the border is a constitution-free zone,” said Tim Sparapani, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel. “Congress needs to step in and reassert the American values of limited intrusion on Americans’ private lives.”
Sparapani continued, “This is just the latest in a long list of misguided DHS security policies, from trying to waive all laws at the border to building a wall at the U.S. border, to redirecting the Automated Tracking System from assessing the risk of cargo to assessing the risk of travelers, to the most recent controversy over detaining laptops at airports. It is clear the next administration will need to drastically rethink all of these wrongheaded policies.”
14 comments:
The ACLU has done more to destroy this country then any other organization in history.
Sounds like they are doing exactly what they are supposed to. I'm getting rather tired of hearing Wyzmie's wackjob conspiracy crap.
and im sick and tired of the citizens living in denial,
If you don't like it there's nobody forcing you to read yet, give the government time and the money, they will.
I’m considered by most to be too patriotic and accepting of our government's national security measures. I just think that in today’s world there is little choice.
But I also know that the ultimate republican, Thomas Jefferson, thought that all government, ours, theirs, anybody’s would deteriorate into tyranny if left unchecked by the governed. I doubt that Jefferson was wrong on this.
It is, after all, 24 years
since "1984."
I don't always agree with Wymzie. But she has a lot of this right.
Call people conspiracy whack jobs all you want, but in the name of "security," our government has done so much to take away our rights, it's not funny.
Condemn the ACLU all you want. I don't always agree with them either. But I'm glad someone is watching out for the rights of the individual. Isn't it funny that the same people who bitch about too much government intrusion on some matters condemn the ACLU when they say the same thing about government intrusion on other issues.
Neither side can have it both ways.
Long live the Constitution!
And Benjamin Franklin's words: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
BTW, for those of you not paying attention and think this is just conspiracy stuff, you should have read the recent story about the AIRLINE PILOTS who are in the database as terrorists because their names are the same as other suspects. One gets around it easily by using other variations of his name, the other is about to lose his job.
Oh, and a 5-year-old who has the same name as the first pilot gets stopped every time his family travels.
Of course we want as much security as possible, but at the same time, we are all getting watched by Big Brother in ways that we take for granted -- until it's our name in "the database."
Anon10:52,
It wasn't until earlier this year that I had ever agreed with anything the ACLU had ever said.
I was born and raised a staunch white collared Republican, with a polictically active family. However, this last year the 'Republicans' that I had supported all of my life started taking away my freedoms in the name of fear.
What I realized was that in this country in order for me to have freedom of speach, then I need to support another persons right to have freedom of speach even if what his is aspousing is diametricly opposed to what I believe.
Now with the compilation of information to be placed on list for up to 15 about US citizens merely traveling is absolutely outrageous, and we just can't sit by and watch it happen.
We have already succumbed to the FISA bill so all of our phone conversations and emails can be heard and read and documented with out a subpeona.
The alleged terrorist who attacked our country on 911 were not blonde haired blue eyed men and women. They were supposedly Muslims from the Middle east mostly Saudis.
So why are American, clearly Americanized people being stopped and scanned and having dociets created on them when we don't fit the profile.
I can understand someone who is from another country that meets this profile having this happen, but why Joe and Mary, from Whitchita Falls?
I still don't agree with what they have stood for, but they are one of the only groups who is making any headway in seeing that the last threads of our Constitutional rights are being fought for.
Freedom isn't free.
Has anyone who is against this ever heard of being prepared. Anyone who is agianst this needs to take an open minded look at our society and crime and what really goes on, not what you read what really happens. I am sure you would be the first to blame the people investigating the disaster when they cant find any information about who did it because they didnt want to "violate" your rights. Hoe about the right to be alive, the right to be able to take your next breath. That is not a right it is a priveldge you have from living in this country. i challenge all who are so against this to inform yourselves on the crime that goes on in this community, the fact that we rate the 11th worst place to live in the country (no md the country) because of crime per capita. That is a joke, if you have nothing to hide and live right you have no worries. Think about it when you are going to OC and you know where the troopers sit do you speed by, no you know somebody is watching. Dah make sense, dont take stuff in and out of the US the watch you. Imagine if you go caught in another country bringing soemthing illegal or conspiring against them, you wouldnt be able to get the letters ACLU out of your mouth. I do however agree that government should be checked, that is one reason why I challenge all the look at the amount of crime that happens here, you will be pissed and demand changes, I am so tired on living here with all the crimes that prevent my kids from going to the park, worried about going to school, worried about being at the mall late after a movie. WAKE UP
9:32 You chould really go to a city council meeting and tell that to the city council, some on our council are in denial of crime in Salisbury.
Tomorrow night, Monday August 25, 6 PM third floor of the government building.
Wymzie,
How is it that you can spell subpeona (a pretty darned hard word), but can't spell dossier, speech, espouse, and diametrically? **tweak**tweak**;)
I'm a liberal democrat and have never had any use for the ACLU...until now. Big Brother is indeed watching, and it's got to stop.
Wymzie,
Anon 5:02 was NOT me:)!
Anon5:02
I have studied latin and am far better with latin root words.
dossier is french, and I always screw those up. Speech, probably a type 'O'. All because of my serendipitous blond life.
I figured as much Thomas!
Oh and I almost forgot, I worked as a legal secretary for 5 years.
Post a Comment