More and more names are added to the US Government's terrorist tracking list. Data revealed during a civil action show that more than 1,5 million people have been added to this list over the past five years, Associated Press. 2013 was added to 468.749 names while 336.712 was added to 2012, and 250.000 to 2010 and 2009.
The Terrorist Tracking List was first created in 2003, and, according to the FBI, will allow authorities to make preliminary assessments of "positive identifiable terrorists or suspected terrorists if they attempt to obtain a visa, enter the country, travel." by air or other means, or to engage in other activities. " The US government cites the list as "one of the most effective tools in the fight against terrorism" at its disposal, according to TheVerge.
Undoubtedly too many people on this list are innocent, and their lives are made very difficult. While those on the list are not banned from air travel, they are subject to scrutiny and may have great difficulty in acquisition visa. Since the list – and its criteria – is confidential, several questions have been raised, especially in people that are inside it.
It was these questions that led to a civil lawsuit that revealed the number of people on the list. The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit in Virginia for account of a US citizen from Somalia named Gulet Mohamed. Mr. Gulet Mohamed could not return to the US from Kuwait because of the list. The case challenges the constitutionality of the list itself. Lawyers representing the US government managed to close the case using fears of a disclosure of state secrets.
