Washington – The Homeland Security Department’s newly revealed computerized risk assessments of international travelers may violate a specific ban that Congress imposed as part of the agency’s budget over the past three years.
Some members of Congress and privacy advocates on Thursday questioned the legality of Automated Targeting System risk assessments that have been assigned to millions of Americans and foreigners who entered or left the United States over the past four years.
“It clearly goes contrary to what we have in law,” Rep. Martin Sabo, D-Minn., said in an interview.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told The Associated Press: “I don’t think it (the prohibition) can be read as applying to this program. The statute doesn’t bar the use of funds for the purpose of analyzing the risks for people entering the country.”
Department spokesman Russ Knocke said Congress was informed many times since 2003 that the Automated Targeting System was being used to assess people.
The Associated Press reported last week that the ATS has been assessing millions of people since 2002. At that time, a law prompted by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, required air and cruise lines to give the Homeland Security Department advance data on all passengers and crew entering and leaving the country.
Jayson Ahern, assistant commissioner of customs and border protection, told AP all that passenger data is analyzed by the ATS. Data on rail and some land travelers also have been assessed, he said.
The ATS has operated with little public notice or understanding until a description was published last month in the Federal Register, a fine-print compendium of federal rules.
The Homeland Security Department’s notice said people could not see their assessments or directly challenge them. It plans to keep the assessments for 40 years and share data with state, local and foreign governments for hiring, contracting, licensing and other decisions.
