DarkGovernment

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is a U.S. government agency that was created as part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001. The TSA was originally organized in the U.S. Department of Transportation but was moved to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. The agency is responsible for security in all modes of transportation.

Aviation Security Responsibilities

The TSA is solely responsible for carrying out screenings of passengers and their baggage (both checked and carry-on) at 450 airports across the country.

Confiscated items are available for sale to the public, if not claimed by their owner.[7] TSA is also working to combat baggage theft in many airports. It is working with local and other federal law enforcement agencies. In Las Vegas, a recent sting operation caught two airport employees stealing weapons.[8]

Transportation Security Officers, or “TSOs”, are Emergency Personnel of the United States Federal Government and operate in a “Mission Critical” capacity for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They are uniformed federal officers with no arrest powers, and do not carry firearms, OC spray or batons. TSOs are given the power of search and seizure due to language within the 4th Amendment. By purchasing an airline ticket, the person whose name appears on the ticket is consenting to the possibility of random searches of his person and items.

Funding

For the United States Government’s fiscal year of 2007 an amount of $4,751,580,000 (4.7 billion) dollars was appropriated for use (specifically for civil aviation security services) by the TSA. This appropriation was proposed in House Resolution 5441[9] and was signed into public law as Public Law 109-295.

Tags: airport security, DHS, Security, terrorism, tsa

Are Fingerprints Personal Data?

Fingerprints are considered to be among the most personal of information, and fingerprint databases created and proposed in the name of national security have generated much debate. Recently, “Server in the Sky” — a proposed international database of the fingerprints of suspected criminals and terrorists to be shared among the U.S., U.K. and Canada — has ignited a firestorm of controversy. As have cavalier comments by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that fingerprints aren’t “personal data.”

Yet earlier this week, a measure creating a federal fingerprint registry totally unrelated to national security passed a U.S. Senate committee almost without notice. The legislation would require thousands of individuals working even tangentially in the mortgage and real estate industries — and not suspected of anything — to send their prints to the feds. The database and fingerprint mandates were tucked into housing and foreclosure assistance bills that just passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 19-2.

The measure the committee passed states that “an indvidual may not engage in the business of a loan originator without first … obtaining a unique identifier.” To obtain this “identifier,” an individual is requiredto “furnish” to the newly created Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry “information concerning the applicant’s identity, including fingerprints for submission” to the FBI and other government agencies.

The fingerprint provisions are contained in a “manager’s amendment” that was hammered out by committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn, and Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala., on Monday and attached the next day to a broader housing bailout bill that had been scheduled for a comittee vote. That bill, the “Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008,” expands the lending authority of the Federal Housing Administration and the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance the mortgages of troubled borrowers and banks.

The amendment adopted the fingerprint provisions in a section called the “S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act.” The fingerprints will be part of what the amendment calls “a comprehensive licensing and supervisory database.”

And the database would cover a broad swath of individuals involved with mortgage lending. The amendment defines “loan originator” as anyone who “takes a residential loan application; and offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan for compensation or gain.” It states that even real estate brokers would be covered if they receive any compensation from lenders or mortgage brokers. Since many jobs in both real estate and mortgage lending are part-time and seasonal, even some of the most minor players in the mortgage market may have to submit their prints.

Justifications listed in the bill for this database include “increased accountability and tracking of loan originators,” “enhance[d] consumer protection,” and “facilitat[ing] responsible behavior in the subprime mortgage market.”

I conducted a wide Internet search and found fingerprint provisions in some state bills, but I don’t know if any, or how many passed. But in my search, I could find no arguments explaining how, specifically, collecting the fingerprints of loan originators would better serve borrowers getting mortgages. I called the Senate Banking Committee asking this question, but my call has not been returned yet. (I will update OpenMarket readers when and if it is.)

I imagine that, yes, a fingerprint registry might stop an ex-con from handling loans, but I doubt it will make even a dent in the lending problems the bill aims to stop. And I would venture to guess that the vast majority of the problem mortages were handled by employees with no criminal record. Rather, this seem like another thoughtless idea that lets politicians brag that they are “getting tough” about a particular problem.

But this fingerprint database, in addition to the privacy violations, might create a host of new problems of mortgage fraud. Identity theft involving fingerprints is becoming a major concern among data security experts. Security consultant Bruce Schneier has argued that hackers can steal electronic images of fingerprints directly from the databases they are stored in. And there is virtually nothing in this bill about security procedures that would apply to this database.

It amazes me. We have wrenching debates about privacy and freedom vs. national security when it comes to proposed anti-terrorist programs. But then a smililar scheme is done in response to an economic problem, and it almost escapes without notice. A similar thing has happened with anti-money laundering requirements that mandate that banks effectively spy on their customers for possible violations of everything from drug laws to the tax code.

Tags: chertoff, DHS, fingerprints, personal data, privacy

Democrats Claim DHS Plans to Spy on Americans

New DHS Office Would Share Detailed Surveillance Capabilities of Military Intel Satellites With Local Law Enforcement

The Department of Homeland Security wants to set up a new program to illegally spy on Americans, two senior Democratic lawmakers charged Thursday in a letter urging colleagues to deny funds for the program.

In a letter to three colleagues obtained by ABC News, House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, Miss., and Rep. Jane Harman, Calif., voiced objections to a new office DHS wants to create that would share the detailed surveillance capabilities of military intelligence satellites and other monitoring technology with state and local law enforcement.

The size of the National Applications Office, as DHS has named it, and its proposed budget, remain classified. The department has said the office would not traffic in eavesdropped conversations. It would primarily be used to share data from military assets for disaster response, monitoring climate change and other purposes, according to DHS.

Noting that the Pentagon is already cleared and capable of sharing satellite imagery on a legal and limited basis to aid authorities protecting major events or responding to natural disasters, Thompson and Harman said the purpose of expanding the program and placing it in a classified office could only be to surveil U.S. residents illegally.

“We are left to conclude that the only reason to stand up a new office would be to gather domestic intelligence outside the rigorous protections of the law — and, ultimately, to share this intelligence with local law enforcement outside of constitutional parameters,” Thompson and Harman wrote.

The two urged their colleagues to bar funding for the program, which they said would likely violate long-standing laws prohibiting military involvement in peacetime law enforcement. Current law bars money for the program until Congress’ auditors review and approve a legal argument from DHS justifying the office, which is expected later this year.

The letter contained some of the harshest language yet from the lawmakers, who have raised serious questions about the proposed office since the administration announced its plans for NAO late last year.

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has called their concerns baseless and has pushed to institute the program. “I think we’ve fully addressed anybody’s concerns,” Chertoff reportedly said in a recent chat with bloggers. “I think the way is now clear to stand it up and go warm on it.”

But if the House appropriators who control DHS’ pursestrings listen to Thompson and Harman, that may not be the case. “Having been burned before on the Terrorist Surveillance Program and knowing this administration’s disdain for obeying the laws Congress passes, we need to be extraordinarily careful,” Thompson and Harman warned in their letter today.

“We are confident that [congressional auditors] will soon conclude — like the DHS Inspector General — that the NAO is a lawful and effective tool for protecting the country,” said department spokeswoman Laura Keehner. She said the lawmakers fundamentally misunderstood the office, were “wrong on the law” and charged that their efforts “are misguided, and plainly political.”

Tags: DHS, domestic spying, Homeland Security, privacy, spying

What is Homeland Security Doing in Iowa

People in Waterloo are trying to figure out what sort of operation federal officials are conducting in town. This week, the Department of Homeland Security took-over and sealed-off the grounds of the National Cattle Congress on the west side of Waterloo.

Thursday night, our crew went to investigate, but security guards told them to stay across the street from the property. Our camera caught pictures of elaborate ventilation systems going into the buildings. There were dozens of cars coming in and out with license plates from surrounding states, and even as far away as Georgia and Texas.

A guard at the gate told us they are preparing for training exercises, but a Homeland Security spokesman would not confirm that. Many people in Waterloo believe the site is being transformed into a detention center. People in the Latino community fear it will be used in a mass immigration raid.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hook and it’s basically the same question. Is there going to be a raid? What’s going on?,” says Mario Basurto with El Centro Latinoamericano.

A spokesperson for Governor Culver says the federal government made the governor’s office aware of the situation, but they could not offer any comment.

Our Guess - It Might Have Something To do With This Training Exercise

Normal operations on the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds have been suspended for most of May as the federal government has leased out virtually the entire facility for a training exercise, NCC general manager Doug Miller said Saturday.

Miller said he could release few details. But activity on the NCC fairgrounds was apparent Saturday, as contractors installed massive generators adjacent to many buildings on the NCC fairgrounds and windows of many of the buildings were covered up, blocking views of any work going on inside. A number of large mobile home-size trailers also have taken up residence on the site in the past several weeks.

Miller said the federal government is leasing the fairgrounds through May 25 under an agreement approved by the NCC board. He and others close to NCC said no entity has leased out the entire fairgrounds for that long a period.

He said it is his understanding that access to the NCC fairgrounds will be restricted beginning Monday, except for next weekend’s Cedar Falls High School prom at Electric Park Ballroom.

Miller said he has primarily been dealing with the U.S. General Services Administration on the arrangements, and that his physical facilities staff have been cooperating with federal officials on logistics and setup for the exercise.

Miller said that, other than GSA, he could not identify which agencies are involved in the exercise. But an individual on site Saturday who identified himself as an employee of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement referred inquiries to ICE officials in Minneapolis, who could not immediately be reached Saturday.

Miller also was referring inquiries to federal officials in Cedar Rapids, and NCC board member Tunis Den Hartog said it was his understanding the Federal Emergency Management Agency was involved.

Tags: DHS, Homeland Security, iowa, waterloo iowa

DHS Domestic Spy Satellite Operation

DHS finalizing plans for domestic spy satellite program

Congress has not been updated since civil liberties concerns delayed satellite spying

A plan to dramatically widen US law enforcement agencies’ access to data from powerful spy satellites is moving toward implementation, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff expects to finalize a charter for the program this week, according to a new report.

Chertoff insists the scheme to turn spy satellites — that were originally designed for foreign surveillance — on Americans is legal, although a House committee that would approve the program has not been updated on the program for three months.

“We still haven’t seen the legal framework we requested or the standard operation procedures on how the NAO will actually be run,” House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson tells the Wall Street Journal. Thompson was referring to the National Applications Office — a new DHS subset that would coordinate access to spy-satellite data for non-military domestic agencies, including law enforcement.

Civil liberties concerns delayed the program after lawmakers and outside activists wondered how the program would be structured to protect Americans from unconstitutional surveillance from the powerful satellites, which can see through cloud cover, trees and even concrete buildings.

The program’s charter remains unfinalized, but Chertoff said it will use clear language to explain legal restrictions on the data’s use. Warrants will be obtained when required before collecting satellite intelligence, and the program won’t use technology to intercept verbal communications, according to the Journal.

“One lesson I’ve learned is it’s not enough to say we know what we’re doing is going to be OK,” Chertoff told the paper in an interview. “We’ve got to really make it clear to the public that we’re doing this, but we’re not doing that.”

Tags: DHS, satellites, spying