Gavin Howe
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of harassing Muslims and engaging in racial and religious profiling. A study by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed that the TSA's behavior detection program, which uses behavioral cues to identify potential terrorists, disproportionately targets Arabs, Muslims, and people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. The program has been criticized for being unscientific and unreliable, and for creating an unacceptable risk of racial and religious profiling. Despite assurances from the TSA that the program uses objective criteria and is supported by experts, internal documents and investigations suggest that the program has been used to profile and harass Muslims. These practices occurred during the Trump administration, which implemented controversial immigration policies, including a Muslim Ban that prohibited travel and refugee resettlement from select predominantly Muslim countries.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature of the program | Behavior detection program |
| Scientific validity | Not grounded in valid science |
| Targeted groups | Arabs, Muslims, Latinos, and people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent |
| Behavioral cues | Trancelike state, inappropriate clothing, avoiding direct contact with others, exaggerated yawning, excessive grooming gestures, fast eye blink rate, lack of eye contact, excessive fidgeting, clock-watching, head-turning, shuffling feet, leg shaking, fresh shave with lighter skin on the lower face |
| Outcome | Implicit or explicit bias, harassment, and unlawful racial and religious profiling |
| Internal investigations | Profiling of passengers based on race, improper law enforcement referrals to Customs and Border Protection, implementation of procedures for profiling or identifying illegal aliens |
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What You'll Learn
TSA behaviour detection programs are unscientific and biased
The Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) behaviour detection programs have been criticised for being unscientific and biased. The TSA's Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program has been under intense scrutiny by Congress and has been criticised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), government auditors, independent experts, and ex-TSA agents.
Academic research and documents in the TSA's own files suggest that behaviour detection is unscientific and unreliable. The TSA has been accused of overstating the scientific validity of its behaviour detection programs and concealing instances of racial and religious profiling. The ACLU obtained over 13,000 pages of documents from the TSA, which revealed that the TSA's secret list of behavioural indicators includes behaviours such as gaze aversion, nervous or fidgety gestures, and placement of hands over the mouth, which are not reliable cues to deception.
The TSA's behaviour detection programs have been criticised for their focus on Arabs, Muslims, and individuals of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. A 2017 ACLU report stated that various documents and materials in the TSA's files reflect a "disproportionate focus on, and in some cases overt bias against" these groups. The report also noted that TSA training examples given to officers focused exclusively on Arab or Muslim terrorists until 2012.
In response to the criticisms, the TSA has defended its behaviour detection programs, stating that they are designed to identify and engage individuals who may be high-risk and route them to additional security screening. The TSA has also sought to bolster evidence for the efficacy of its behavioural indicators and has revised its list of factors. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a paper in 2017 stating that the TSA does not have valid evidence supporting most of the revised behavioural indicators used in its behaviour detection activities.
The criticisms of the TSA's behaviour detection programs have led to recommendations for change. The ACLU has recommended that the TSA phase out its behaviour detection programs and implement a rigorous anti-discrimination training program for its workforce. Other recommendations include revising the SPOT curriculum to include an explanation of TSA authority, cultural, political, and socioeconomic variables that affect behaviour, and offering advanced training classes and career advancement opportunities for behaviour detection officers.
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Racial profiling and harassment of Muslims
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been criticized for its screening program, which has been accused of enabling racial profiling and the harassment of Muslims. Despite assurances from the TSA that its behavior detection program uses "objective criteria" and is based on widely accepted principles supported by experts, internal documents and investigations have raised concerns about potential bias and religious profiling, particularly targeting Arabs, Muslims, and people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent.
One example of this is the TSA's training materials for behavior detection officers, which previously focused solely on examples of Arab or Muslim terrorists. A presentation titled "Femme Fatale: Female Suicide Bombers" reflected demeaning stereotypes about Muslims and women, raising questions about anti-Muslim bias within the organization. Internal documents also revealed specific instances of racial and religious profiling, with investigations conducted in Newark, Chicago, Miami, and Honolulu. These records highlighted how behavioral indicators could be misused to harass minorities and disfavored groups.
The ACLU obtained over 13,000 pages of documents from the TSA through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The documents revealed that the TSA's behavior detection techniques, which focus on behavioral cues such as nervous behaviors and specific physical indicators, lack scientific validity and reliability. According to the ACLU, these techniques create an "unacceptable risk" of racial and religious profiling, providing officers with a license to harass. The TSA's own studies and academic research in its files reinforce the unscientific nature of its behavior detection methods.
Additionally, the Trump administration's "Muslim Ban" further contributed to the perception of discrimination against Muslims. The executive order prohibited travel and refugee resettlement from several predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The ban sparked protests and legal challenges, with critics arguing that it was discriminatory and violated immigrant rights.
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TSA training materials reflect demeaning stereotypes
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has obtained more than 13,000 pages of documents from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. These documents reveal that the TSA's behaviour detection program is not grounded in valid science and creates an unacceptable risk of racial and religious profiling.
The TSA's training materials for behaviour detection officers reflect demeaning stereotypes about Muslims and women. For instance, until late 2012, training materials focused exclusively on examples of Arab or Muslim terrorists. A TSA-authored presentation titled "Femme Fatale: Female Suicide Bombers" is particularly concerning. While it is unclear whether and how these materials factored into the TSA’s behaviour detection program, their existence in the TSA’s records raises questions about potential bias in TSA programs.
Various documents from the TSA’s files reflect a disproportionate focus on or an overt bias against Arabs, Muslims, and people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. The TSA has repeatedly assured members of Congress that the behaviour detection program uses "objective criteria" and is supported by experts in the field of behavioural science and law enforcement. However, these statements ignore or misconstrue the empirical research that indicates otherwise.
The TSA's secret list of behavioural indicators includes behaviours commonly associated with lying, such as gaze aversion, nervous or fidgety gestures, or placing hands over the mouth. However, social science literature in the TSA’s files suggests that these behaviours are not reliable cues to deception. The TSA's documents also reveal details of specific instances of racial or religious profiling by behaviour detection officers in Newark, Chicago, Miami, and Honolulu.
Given the anti-Muslim policies of the Trump administration, the ACLU recommends that the TSA phases out the behaviour detection program, which lacks scientific support and threatens civil liberties. The TSA should also implement a rigorous anti-discrimination training program for all employees.
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Dubious behavioural science used for surveillance
The TSA's Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program has been criticized for its use of dubious behavioural science in the surveillance of travellers. The program involves thousands of TSA officers using "behaviour detection" techniques to scrutinize travellers for signs of deception or "mal-intent". These officers then flag certain individuals for additional screening and questioning.
The SPOT program has been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the NYCLU, who filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in 2015 to obtain documents related to the program. The ACLU's report, based on these documents, reveals that the program lacks scientific validity and is unreliable. It highlights that the TSA has misrepresented the scientific validity of behaviour detection techniques to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The ACLU's report also raises concerns about anti-Muslim bias within the SPOT program. Until 2012, training materials for behaviour detection officers focused exclusively on examples of Arab or Muslim terrorists, and a TSA presentation titled "Femme Fatale: Female Suicide Bombers" reflects demeaning stereotypes about Muslims and women. The TSA's records also reveal instances of racial and religious profiling, indicating the ease with which behavioural indicators can be used to harass minorities and disfavored groups.
Despite these criticisms and concerns, the TSA has defended the program, asserting that it uses "objective criteria" and is supported by leading experts in behavioural science and law enforcement. However, empirical research and academic studies contradict these claims, showing that the academic community is divided on the effectiveness of deception detection techniques.
The TSA has been recommended to undertake strategic improvements to the SPOT program, including establishing performance metrics for behaviour detection officers, enhancing hiring criteria, and conducting anti-discrimination training. The effectiveness of the program remains in question, with the TSA needing to prove its value before receiving additional funding.
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Unlawful profiling of Muslims by TSA officials
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of unlawfully profiling Muslims and other minorities through its behavior detection program. TSA officials have repeatedly assured Congress that the program uses "objective criteria" and is supported by experts in behavioral science and law enforcement. However, documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit reveal that the program lacks scientific grounding and poses a significant risk of racial and religious profiling.
The ACLU's investigation uncovered thousands of pages of TSA documents indicating a substantial focus on Arabs, Muslims, and people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. Training materials for behavior detection officers until late 2012 exclusively featured examples of Arab or Muslim terrorists, perpetuating demeaning stereotypes about Muslims. The existence of such materials in the TSA's records suggests a potential bias within the organization.
Instances of unlawful profiling by TSA officials have been documented at several airports across the United States, including Chicago, Honolulu, Miami, and Newark. One behavioral detection officer observed that managers made questionable decisions based on passengers' physical appearance and used derogatory terms to refer to Muslims. The TSA's behavior detection program has been criticized by various experts, including government auditors, members of Congress, and independent experts, who have labeled it as wasteful, ineffective, and a cover for racial and religious profiling.
While the TSA denies engaging in racial profiling and claims to have zero tolerance for such practices, the organization's own documents and multiple studies contradict these assertions. The ACLU study concluded that the TSA's behavior detection techniques, which include identifying signs of deception or "mal-intent," are not based on valid scientific principles. This is further supported by statements from TSA officers, who admitted that the program has been used for racial and religious profiling.
The unlawful profiling of Muslims by TSA officials is a violation of civil rights and liberties. To address this issue, civil rights groups have developed mobile apps, such as FlyRights, enabling travelers to file real-time complaints about checkpoint profiling incidents with the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security. These complaints are also shared with travelers' congressional representatives, adding a layer of accountability and enabling further action.
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Frequently asked questions
The "Muslim Ban" refers to a series of executive orders by the Trump administration that prohibited travel and refugee resettlement from several predominantly Muslim countries.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of racial and religious profiling, particularly targeting Muslims, Arabs, and people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent.
A study by the ACLU based on thousands of internal TSA documents revealed a focus on Arabs, Muslims, and Latinos. TSA training materials have also been criticised for focusing on examples of Muslim terrorists and perpetuating demeaning stereotypes.
The TSA has maintained that its behaviour detection program uses "objective criteria" and is supported by experts. However, internal investigations and lawsuits have found evidence of racial and religious profiling, with TSA officers admitting to the use of profiling techniques.
