You Ought to Be Able to Challenge Your Placement on the No ‐​Fly List

Ilya Shapiro andSam SpiegelmanPlacement on the FBI ’s Terrorist Screening Database (the “Watchlist”) is never a good thing. For 23 Muslim ‐​American litigants, among thousands of others listed, it means reduced employment opportunities, potential arrest and detention, and, most notoriously, severe limitations on their freedom to travel by air. The government insists it doesn’t need court approval before placing someone on the Wa tchlist, and that those listed cannot even sue for their removal. A federal district court in Virginia disagreed, holding that the plaintiffs didn ’t receive enough due process. The government appealed. Cato has joined the Rutherford Institute ona brief supporting the challengers and asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to affirm the lower court ’s ruling.As the nation experiences state and local lockdowns in response to a pandemic and protests against police misconduct, more of us are waking up to the drawbacks of unquestioned deference to the wisdom of law enforcement. Indeed, the Watchlist is hardly the first instance in which the government has asked us for blind trust. In times of crisis, especially, the governments at all levels ask us to defer to their apparent wisdom on questions of national security.The problem, of course, is that such powers, once acquired, often hold firm, even years after the instigating emergency has passed. The judiciary should at all times check officials ’ self...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs