BACKGROUNDER:
The automated screening practices challenged here—the federal government’s watchlisting system—are based on secret statuses assigned to more than one million people. The federal government disseminates those statuses to private companies, hospitals, universities, every law enforcement agency in the US, and even to foreign governments.
SEE: Watchlist Disseminated to 1,400 Private entities
For some people, like the plaintiff filing this lawsuit, the secret status assigned to them means that, each time they travel overseas, federal agents will be waiting to seize their electronic devices on their return to the United States. The officials that oversee the watchlisting system use the information seized to assign more people secret statuses.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]