The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, allowing CAIR’s lawsuit to move forward in challenging the federal No Fly List and Watchlist on behalf of Mr. Saadiq Long. The Fourth Circuit Court’s decision to advance Long’s case represents a significant victory for Muslims seeking justice against the Government’s Watchlist program.
READ:The Fourth Circuit’s Decision in Long v. Bondi
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[NOTE: Long has experienced more than 10 years of harassment, targeting, and discrimination after the government placed him on its No Fly List and broader Watchlist. While Long was removed from the No Fly List in 2019, five years after he initially sued, he remains on Government’s Watchlist and continues to face discrimination.]
In a major win for Long and others on the Government’s Watchlist, the Fourth Circuit affirmed that Long’s constitutional rights may have been violated after the Transportation Security Administration used the Watchlist to deny him two commercial licenses highly valuable to his employment as a truck driver: the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and Hazardous Material Endorsement (HME).
Additionally, though Long is no longer on the No Fly List, the Fourth Circuit advanced his suit against the No Fly List after finding that the Government failed to adequately assure him that he would not be unlawfully targeted by the List again in the future.
[NOTE: CAIR LDF’s landmark victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 established the legal precedent allowing Mr. Long’s suit against the No Fly List to advance.]
“The Fourth Circuit’s decision is the latest indication that the FBI’s secret watchlists are numbered,” said CAIR National Deputy Litigation Director Gadeir Abbas. “We will continue fighting to free Saadiq and everyone else from this national security program run amok.”
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CONTACT: Gadeir Abbas, CAIR Deputy Litigation Director, (202) 742-6420, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com