Georgetown Security Law Brief

US No-Fly list doubles in one year

02/02/12: The Washington Times reports that the size of the government’s secret list of suspected terrorists who are banned from flying to or within the United States has more than doubled in the past year, the Associated Press has learned. The no-fly list jumped from about 10,000 known or suspected terrorists one year ago to about 21,000, according to government figures provided to the AP. Most people on the list are from other countries; about 500 are Americans.

TSA rail, subway spot-checks raise privacy issues

01/29/12: CNN reports that at a time when TSA airport searches are unpopular among many air travelers, civil liberties groups say the joint participation of special TSA Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response teams (VIPRS) with local police in "warrantless" searches have been "flying under the radar" in violation of constitutional protections. Transit police say it helps them better guard against attacks like those that have hit Madrid, London and Moscow since 2004. VIPRS are tasked with performing random, unpredictable baggage and security checks at passenger train, subway and bus stations as well as trucking weigh stations across the nation.

Justice Department takes on itself in probe of 2001 anthrax attacks

01/27/12: The Washington Post reports that since it began a decade ago, the federal government’s massive investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks has been plagued by missteps and complications. Investigators initially focused on the wrong man, then had to pay him a nearly $6 million settlement. In 2008, they accused another man, Bruce E. Ivins, who killed himself before he could go to trial. Now, in the latest twist, the government has argued Ivins was likely not the anthrax killer.

Maryland man pleads guilty to plotting attack on military recruiting center

01/27/12: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that a Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore. Antonio Martinez, a Muslim convert who also goes by Muhammad Hussain, was arrested on December 8, 2010, in an FBI sting after he tried to detonate a car bomb at the Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Maryland. The bomb, supplied by federal agents, was inert.

Shot-up image of president draws a Secret Service inquiry

01/27/12: The New York Times reports that the Secret Service says it is looking into a photograph posted on the Internet that showed a group of young Arizona men posing in the desert with guns while holding up what appeared to be a bullet-riddled image of President Obama’s face. The photograph showed seven casually dressed young men, four of whom clutched weapons and one of whom held up a T-shirt covered with small holes and gashes and bearing a likeness of Mr. Obama above the word “HOPE.” The weapons held aloft appeared to be a revolver, a bolt-action rifle and two assault rifles.

Commentary: The innate tension between efficiency and resilience in supply chains

01/27/12: Homeland Security Watch features commentary by Philip J. Palin concerning the administration’s new National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security. Palin contends this is an easy issue to underestimate. Like the plumbing in your house, it tends not to be at the forefront until something goes wrong: leaking, freezing, breaking, bursting, or when the well goes dry. He shares his brief quick take on context and potential implications of the new strategy.

Prosecution argues Reagan’s would-be assassin should not get more freedom

01/26/12: The Washington Post reports that prosecutors contend presidential assailant John W. Hinckley should not get more freedom from his psychiatric hospital, because of his pattern of deception, isolation and problematic relationships with women. Hinckley’s family and St. Elizabeths Hospital staff members say his mental health has improved and are asking a federal judge to expand his privileges.

Department of Homeland Security seeking technology for persistent broad surveillance

01/24/12: Wired reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is interested in a camera package that can peek in on almost four square miles of American territory for long, long stretches of time. DHS is soliciting “industry feedback” on what a formal call for such a “Wide Area Surveillance System” might look like. The inquiry it’s the latest indication of how powerful military surveillance technology, developed to find foreign insurgents and terrorists, is migrating to the home front.

Jewish paper's column catches Secret Service's eye

01/23/12: CNN reports that the US Secret Service is looking into a controversial column by an Atlanta Jewish newspaper publisher that mulled the assassination of an American president. Andrew Adler, owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, wrote a January 13 column about the threat of Iran to Israel. He posed three options for the Jewish state to counter the Iranian regime. One of them called for a "hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence."

Immigration courtrooms silent during ICE review

01/16/12: The Washington Times reports that in a trial of a politically divisive program, US prosecutors in Denver and Baltimore are reviewing thousands of deportation cases to determine which illegal immigrants might stay in the country — perhaps indefinitely — so officials can reduce an overwhelming backlog by focusing mainly on detainees with criminal backgrounds or who are deemed threats to national security. Federal deportation hearings for non-criminal defendants released from custody were suspended December 5 for the review and resume this week.

Federal contractor monitored social network sites

01/14/12: The New York Times reports that the Department of Homeland Security paid a contractor in 2009 to monitor social networking sites — like Facebook, blogs and reader comments on a news article — to see how the residents of Standish, Michigan, were reacting to a proposal to move detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a local prison there, according to newly disclosed documents. While it has long been known that the department monitors the Internet for information about emerging threats to public safety, the documents show that its Social Networking/Media Capability program, at least in an early stage, was also focused on “public reaction to major governmental proposals with homeland security implications.”

Texas coalition sees mixed results on spending on border security

01/13/12: The Washington Times reports that a coalition of Texas border mayors, county executives and economic development leaders said on Thursday the federal government has spent nearly $90 billion over the past decade to secure the Southwest border with no better than mixed results. In a report, the Texas Border Coalition, which describes itself as the “collective voice” of 2.5 million people along the Texas-Mexico border region, says Mexican drug cartels continue to enjoy commercial success, smuggling more drugs than ever into the United States through the nation’s legal border crossings.

US-VISIT advances in biometrics tighten border security

01/06/12: Security Debrief reports that US-VISIT gave its 8th annual briefing at its headquarters in Rosslyn Thursday afternoon, and the progress there continues to be impressive. While the advances in biometrics raise some delicate privacy questions, the United States is getting ever closer to creating a system in which it will be more or less impossible to lie one’s way into this country through the legal ports of entry. And more and more countries – sixty-one at last count – are going down the same road of using biometrics for border control.

Man arrested on hate crime charge in firebomb attack at New York City Islamic cultural center

01/04/12: The Duluth News Tribune reports that a man who confessed to a string of New Year's Day arson attacks at an Islamic cultural center and four other sites where he had personal grievances was arrested on a hate crime charge. Ray Lazier Lengend, a 40-year-old of Guyanese descent, hurled crude firebombs at the Islamic center in part because he wasn't allowed to use its bathrooms, a law enforcement official said. He was arrested Tuesday on charges including one count of arson as a hate crime, four counts of arson and five counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Police report man carried loaded weapons in New York City subway

01/02/12: The Las Vegas Sun reports that a South Carolina man, Allen Reggie, who entered the New York City subway system with two loaded weapons has been arrested. The NYPD says a police officer stopped Reggie after seeing him go into in Manhattan subway station Sunday night without paying. The officer then noticed a handgun in the man's waistband. Police recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson .45-caliber handgun and a loaded Intratec Luger Tec-9 machine gun. Reggie is charged with criminal possession machine gun, criminal possession weapon loaded firearm and other charges.

Man arrested with explosives at Texas airport

01/02/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that a man was arrested at a Texas airport Saturday after attempting to make his way through security with explosives, authorities said. The man was apprehended at about 9:30 am after security officials noticed a suspicious item in a carry-on bag during an X-ray screening at Midland International Airport, the Transportation Security Agency said in a statement. Officials closed down the checkpoint for an hour while security officers removed the item.

Student arrested for bringing stun gun on plane

01/02/12: CBS News reports a that a college student from China was arrested trying to carry a combination stun gun and flashlight onto a plane in New York City. Sihui "Hannah" Xie said by phone Sunday that she pleaded not guilty and believes her weapons-possession case is on track to be resolved with a fine. Court records were not immediately available. The Transportation Security Administration said a checkpoint screener spotted the item in Xie's carry-on luggage as she headed for an Orlando, Florida-bound flight at Kennedy Airport.

Colorado mall bomber pleads guilty to one count

12/31/11: The Denver Post reports that a man has acknowledged planting a homemade bomb at a Colorado shopping mall on the 12th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. Earl Albert Moore, 56, pleaded guilty in Denver federal court Friday to one count of using a destructive device in a crime of violence.  An April 20 fire at the Southwest Plaza Mall in Littleton and the discovery of the bomb raised fears it was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the 1999 school shootings at nearby Columbine in which two students killed 13 people and then themselves.

DHS launches hot line for jailed immigrants

12/30/11: The Sacramento Bee reports that the Homeland Security Department is launching a hot line for people jailed on immigration charges who believe they are victims of crime or may be US citizens. The toll free hot line will be staffed 24 hours a day and run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to answer questions from people held in local jails about whether they may face deportation proceedings.

Two Muslim men kicked of flight sue air carriers

12/20/11: The Boston Globe reports that two Muslim men who say they were kicked off an airplane in May after the pilot objected to their presence are suing Delta Air Lines Inc. and a regional carrier that operated the Delta Connection flight from Memphis to Charlotte, NC. According to a suit filed Monday in federal court in Memphis, Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul were traveling to Charlotte to attend a conference on anti-Muslim discrimination at the time.

Obama administration to reduce the number of National Guard troops deployed to Mexican border

12/14/11: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Obama administration is planning to reduce the number of National Guard troops deployed at the US border with Mexico, the spokesman for a Texas congressman said Tuesday. The force will be reduced from 1,200 troops starting next year, said Mike Rosen, spokesman for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. The exact number of National Guard personnel that will stay on the border is unclear, Rosen said. The remaining troops are expected to be in place until the end of 2012 and will focus on intelligence operations, Rosen said.

Passenger advocate sought for US airports

12/11/11: The Boston Globe reports that two New York lawmakers are seeking a so-called passenger advocate at airports to immediately act on complaints from passengers about security screenings. US Senator Charles Schumer and state Senator Michael Gianaris are calling on the Transportation Security Administration to create the position at all airports. The proposal was prompted by recent claims that an elderly woman was strip searched by security officials at Kennedy Airport. The TSA denies the claim.The TSA says it doesn't conduct strip searches. It is planning its own toll-free hotline to assist passengers during screening.

White House outlines plan against ‘homegrown’ extremist threats

12/09/11: The Voice of America reports that the Obama administration has released an implementation plan for intensified efforts to counter so-called "homegrown" violent extremism in the United States. The 20-page report is called the Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States.  It describes specific steps to strengthen and expand cooperation with officials in communities across the country that might be targeted by violent extremists. President Barack Obama signed off on the overall national strategy to fight violent extremism last August.

House Homeland Security Committee reports that Islamists are targeting the military

12/08/11: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that since the United States was attacked on 9/11, more than 2.3 million Americans have volunteered to go overseas to combat terror. But according to a new investigative report issued Wednesday by the Republican staff of the House Homeland Security Committee, overseas jihadists in Afghanistan and Iraq have plenty of company when it comes to trying to kill American soldiers. According to the report, the Defense Department considers the US homeland to be "the most dangerous place for a GI outside of foreign warzones," and the top threat faced by American soldiers at home "is from violent Islamist extremists." These radicals are penetrating US defenses by enlisting in the US armed forces.

Lawmaker challenges TSA on claims of ethnic profiling

11/29/11: The Washington Post reports that at a Hono­lulu airport, federal officers who allegedly profiled Mexicans are known as “Mexicutioners.” At Newark Liberty International Airport, the profiling officers are called “Mexican hunters.” In both cases, co-workers gave the nicknames to colleagues who targeted passengers as an easy way for TSA employees to drive up their productivity numbers. These allegations of ethnic profiling resulted in staff retraining in Newark and have led a member of Congress to again question the effectiveness, validity and legitimacy of a program designed to detect suspected terrorists. 

EU & US initial new deal on air passengers' data

11/18/11: The Bellingham Herald reports that the EU says it has initialed a new agreement with the United States on the transfer of air passengers' data for flights from Europe to America. The EU said Thursday the accord addresses European privacy concerns because it sets clear limits to what the data can be used for by US authorities, and contains stronger data protection guarantees. If endorsed by the EU Council and the European Parliament, it will replace the existing agreement from 2007.

TSA makes major changes to airport security ahead of busy travel season

11/16/11: Fox News reports that this weekend marks the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday travel surge. More than 23 million passengers are expected at the nation's airports, and to make travel a little less hectic, the federal Transportation Security Administration is showcasing some major changes to airline security. In one key change, kids 12 and younger won't need to take off their sneakers at the screening check points. Although that change has been in place for a couple of months, the Thanksgiving rush is its first major test.

Expedited airport screening for military in the works

11/16/11: CNN reports that US military personnel may someday be treated to expedited screening at airport checkpoints if all goes well with tests that begin Tuesday at a medium-size airport in California. The program was announced by Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole. He said the agency is conducting the tests to see if its technology is compatible with the Common Access Cards that are carried by military personnel.

EU adopts guidelines on airport body scanners

11/14/11: The Missoulian reports that the European Union says it has agreed on new guidelines governing the use of body scanners at airports across the continent. The EU's executive commission said the new framework focuses on addressing privacy concerns linked to the use of the devices, some of which produce nude-like images of passengers. Siim Kallas, the EU commissioner responsible for transport, said that under the rules the technology will only be used with strict safeguards to protect health and fundamental rights.

Federal government uses more unmanned aircraft to secure border

11/13/11: The San Jose Mecury News reports that a Predator program is playing a larger role in the nation's border security as the US Customs and Border Protection adds to its force of aircraft. The agency received its second Predator B aircraft in Texas last month and will add its sixth overall on the Southwest border when another is based in Arizona by the end of the year. The aircrafts are credited with apprehending more than 7,500 people since they were deployed six years ago.

TSA chief says airport screening process may be revamped

11/07/11: The Chicago Tribune reports that in appearances before Congress, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole has strongly defended the airport screening process that treats everyone the same, including infants and the elderly. But in his latest testimony before a congressional panel, Pistole changed his tune and began talking about overhauling the system to focus on intelligence gathering and targeting those travelers the TSA knows the least about.

Alleged ricin plot in Georgia was a long shot

11/03/11: The Washington Post reports that numerous hate groups have fantasized of pulling off a deadly terrorist attack using ricin. None has ever succeeded in carrying out such plans. The four Georgians arrested this week in connection with an alleged terrorist plot may have been capable of advancing further than most amateur weaponeers, given their access to professional labs. (One had previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control, another for the Department of Agriculture.) But their chances for truly creating a weapon of mass destruction were tiny at best, biodefense experts say.

House members question TSA's cargo screening

11/02/11: CNN reports that several House lawmakers want to know if the Transportation Security Administration is backtracking on plans to screen 100% of cargo placed on international passenger flights to the United States. In a letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole, the representatives said a 2007 law requires screening of all US-bound air cargo, but recent TSA statements to the media raise questions about the agency's intentions to fully implement the law.

Homeland Security reviews social media guidelines

11/01/11: The Miami Herald reports that the wave of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East that have overturned three governments in the past year have prompted the US government to begin developing guidelines for culling intelligence from social media networks, a top Homeland Security official said Monday. Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Caryn Wagner said the use of such technology in uprisings that started in December in Tunisia shocked some officials into attention and prompted questions of whether the US needs to do a better job of monitoring domestic social networking activity.

US northern border checks scaled back

10/29/11: The Miami Herald reports that the US Border Patrol has quietly stopped its controversial practice of routinely searching buses, trains and airports for illegal immigrants at transportation hubs along the northern border and in the nation's interior. Current and former Border Patrol agents said field offices around the country began receiving the order last month - soon after the Obama administration announced that to ease an overburdened immigration system, it would allow many illegal immigrants to remain in the country while it focuses on deporting those who have committed crimes.

Homeland Security adding three drone aircraft despite lack of pilots

10/27/11: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Homeland Security Department is adding three surveillance drone aircraft to a domestic fleet chiefly used to patrol the border with Mexico even though officials acknowledge they don't have enough pilots to operate the seven Predators they already possess. The new drones are being purchased after lobbying by members of the so-called drone caucus in Congress, many from districts in Southern California, a major hub of the unmanned aircraft industry.

Hacker group threatens industrial computer systems

10/18/11: The Washington Times reports that the Department of Homeland Security is warning that hackers from the loose online protest collective called Anonymous have threatened attacks against the computer systems that run factories, power stations, chemical plants, and water and sewage facilities. “While Anonymous recently expressed intent to target [industrial control software], they have not demonstrated a capability to inflict damage to these systems,” reads a leaked bulletin from the department’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center.

More than 2,900 convicted criminal immigrants arrested, ICE says

09/28/11: CNN reports that in a huge, seven-day operation covering all 50 states and four US territories, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested 2,901 convicted criminal immigrants as part of the "Cross Check" enforcement operation. ICE officials trumpeted the arrests at a news conference designed to highlight "the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators."

Full body scanner "naked" pictures eliminated with new TSA software

09/27/11: Defense Media Network reports that when the Transportation Security Administration began using full-body scanners in airports, the now-iconic “naked” images spurred a public debate over privacy and security. As a result, TSA has started implementing new software in its Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines, removing all anatomical detail and automatically targeting concealed objects on a generic outline. “We believe it addresses the privacy issues that have been raised,” TSA Administrator John Pistole said.

Citing scope of 9/11, NY judge tosses 7 WTC suit

09/24/11: CBS News reports that in tossing out a negligence lawsuit, a judge on Friday cited the "strange, improbable" events that destroyed a 47-story World Trade Center building a decade ago on September 11, several hours after the 110-story twin towers fell. The claims by the Consolidated Edison Co. of New York were "too farfetched and tenuous" to survive, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said.

DHS advisors recommend changes to controversial immigrant screening process

09/24/11: JURIST reports that the US Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) approved a report on Thursday detailing concerns with the controversial Secure Communities Program, a federal enforcement program that partners local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities. A subcommittee of HSAC was formed in June by the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and was asked to consider how US Immigration and Customs Enforcement could improve the program.

Report says Border Patrol abuses widespread

09/23/11: CNN reports that back in 2006, volunteers with No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization dedicated to helping migrants along the Arizona-Mexico border, began hearing the same stories from many who had been in the custody of the US Border Patrol. Thwarted would-be unauthorized immigrants spoke of being denied water or food and of being beaten during their custody. The organization started properly documenting these allegations, and the stories added up to nearly 13,000 testimonies whose results were released in a report this week.

New York court: Port Authority not liable for 1993 World Trade Center bombing

09/23/11: Jurist reports that The New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was not liable for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, finding governmental immunity. The plaintiffs argued that the operation of the parking garage was more akin to a proprietary, rather than governmental, function and thus qualified immunity should not apply. The court disagreed, stating that "[a]ny failure to secure the parking garage against terrorist attack predominantly derives from a failed allocation of police resources and thus" is considered to be a governmental function.

Homeland security chief says disaster aid fund ‘running on fumes,’ could be empty next week

09/22/11: The Washington Post reports that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the government’s main disaster aid account is “running on fumes” and could be tapped out by early next week. Napolitano says she’s counting on Congress to provide more aid money because without the additional relief dollars, there will be delays in getting disaster projects approved. She wouldn’t say what arrangements the Federal Emergency Management Agency has made to prepare in the event the money runs out.

Last wrongful death lawsuit from 9/11 settled

09/20/11: CBS News reports that the last wrongful death lawsuit remaining from the September 11 terrorist attacks has been resolved with a settlement. The family of Mark Bavis, a passenger on a plane that was flown by hijackers into the World Trade Center's south tower, decided to settle after making public as much information as they could about what they viewed as security lapses on September 11, 2001, at Boston's Logan Airport, where United Airlines Flight 175 originated, attorney Donald Migliori said.

Commentary: What we still don’t know after September 11

09/18/11: The New York Review of Books features a new article by David Cole, addressing what, precisely, did and did not change after September 11, particularly with respect to law, liberty, and security. Cole discusses the response of the Bush and Obama administrations to terrorism, concluding that one of the most important lessons of the past decade may be that the rule of law has proved far more resilient than many would have predicted.

9/11 panel says US remains vulnerable to cyberterrorism and 'lone wolf' terrorists

09/16/11: The Associated Press reports that former members of the 9/11 commission warned Thursday that despite efforts during the last decade to make American cities safer from terrorist attacks, the US has failed to protect itself in at least three key areas and remains vulnerable to cyberterrorism and "lone wolf" terrorists. Committee members said the US must develop better bomb detection technology, has not adequately improved radio equipment to allow police and fire departments nationwide to better communicate and has yet to develop a national identification card that could add another barrier to terrorists trying to slip into the country.

Three terrorist groups in Africa pose threat to US, American commander says

09/14/11: The New York Times reports that the senior American military commander for Africa warned Wednesday that three violent extremist organizations on the continent were trying to forge an alliance to coordinate attacks on the United States and Western interests. The commander, Gen. Carter F. Ham, the top officer at Africa Command, said terrorist organizations in East Africa, in the deserts of northern Africa and in Nigeria “have very explicitly and publicly voiced an intent to target Westerners, and the US specifically.” General Ham made clear that the three militant organizations — the Shabab in Somalia, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb across the Sahel region of northern Africa and Boko Haram in northern Nigeria — had not yet shown the capability to mount significant attacks outside their homelands.

Authorities piece together clues from flight logs over 9/11 threat

09/10/11: CNN reports that two of the three suspects believed to be involved in a potential 9/11 anniversary plot against New York or Washington are of Arab descent and traveled to the United States last week, according to a US government official. Authorities are operating under the assumption that two of the suspects have arrived on US soil, and have been piecing together clues gleaned from flight logs and manifests, among other sources, said the official, who declined to be named.

Napolitano says there is 'lots of chatter' on jihadi websites ahead of 9/11

09/08/11: CNN reports that intelligence officials have picked up "lots of chatter" on jihadi websites and elsewhere about the impending 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, but nothing yet that warrants issuing a threat advisory, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday. Nonetheless, the department will be at a heightened level of readiness as the nation commemorates the anniversary, "staffing up" Federal Air Marshals and other agencies.