Secondary Security Screening Selection
Secondary Security Screening Selection or Secondary Security Screening Selectee, known by its acronym SSSS, is an airport security measure in the United States which selects passengers for additional inspection.[1] The passengers may be known as Selectee, Automatic Selectee or the Selectee list.[1] The number of names on the list fluctuates and is a secret, although the Transportation Security Administration apparently says there are tens of thousands of names on it.[2]
The Selectee list has been cited by civil liberties groups to be infringing on privacy rights and potential for racial and ethnic discrimination.[3]
Procedure when selected
Passengers who have been selected for secondary screening can neither print out boarding passes at home nor check in curbside or at kiosks. They must check-in at counters where additional verification is performed by airline staff.[4] The passengers will have the letters SSSS or *S* (all capitals) printed on their boarding passes as a signal for the need for a thorough search at checkpoints.[5] In the case of Southwest Airlines, secondary screening selectees may have a "checkerboard" pattern printed on their boarding passes.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
- Passengers who pay cash for their tickets.[6]
- Random selection, according to TSA spokeswoman Amy Von Walter in 2004,[5] and as suggested by the Washington State branch of the ACLU.[2]
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has insisted no minors are listed on the No Fly List or the Selectee List. However, as of July 2017[update], minors with similar names to those on the lists still have difficulty in obtaining boarding passes and are subjected to additional screening.[7][4]
Critics of the George W. Bush administration, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, Rep. John Lewis, feminist Naomi Wolf, peace activists Father John Dear and Sister Virgine Lawinger, Center for Constitutional Rights lawyers Barbara Olshansky and Nancy Chang, and Green Party activists Nancy Oden and Doug Stuber have been pulled aside for enhanced screening, leading activists to believe that some selectees were being harassed for speaking out against government policies.[8][9][10]
See also
References
- ^ a b "TSA Leaks Sensitive Airport Screening Manual". Wired. December 2009.
- ^ a b ACLU. "Frequently Asked Questions About the No-Fly List". aclu-wa.org. Washington State. Archived from the original on February 12, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging The 'No Fly List'". avstop.com. July 2010.
- ^ a b Are These Kids Terrorists?
- ^ a b "Associated Press: "Women complain about airport patdowns"". Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ Women voice objection to intrusive searches at US airports DailyTimes, December 1, 2004. Accessed January 8, 2008
- ^ [1]
- ^ Sherwood Ross. "BUSH RESTRICTING TRAVEL RIGHTS OF OVER 100,000 U.S. CITIZENS". WarIsACrime.org. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
- ^ Naomi Wolf (September 2007). The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. Chelsea Green Publishing. pp. 93–94.
- ^ Dave Lindorff (November 22, 2002). "The No-Fly List: Is a federal agency systematically harassing travelers for their political beliefs?". In These Times.