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6 Jun, 2014

No-fly list discriminates against Muslim travelers | The Daily Texan

Many Longhorns will take this summer break as an opportunity to study or travel abroad. Most students will board their planes without a second thought. However, some students will have to worry about possible discrimination based on appearance or religious affiliation by which they could be unfairly chosen for frisking or even denied boarding on a plane. As a Muslim, I often fear that I will be discriminated against when traveling. As a productive, law-abiding citizen, I have no reason to be denied boarding. But even a squeaky clean background cannot prevent racial profiling.

Imagine going through all of the extensive security measures that have been implemented at airports in the United States only to be denied the ability to board a plane because you are on the no-fly list. This list is compiled by the Terrorist Screening Center, an entity of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is maintained by the Transportation Security Administration. In addition to the technical problems that lead to individuals’ being placed on the list without warrant, the process by which someone is placed on the no-fly list is not-so-subtly discriminatory toward Muslim travelers.

Read the rest: No-fly list discriminates against Muslim travelers | The Daily Texan.