New Legislation Proposed to Curb Electronic Searches & Ban Border Profiling

A positive signal that federal lawmakers are ready to challenge the constitutionally questionable practice of electronic searches at the border came with the introduction of the Travelers' Privacy Protection Act of 2008 (TPPA) (S. 3612). Introduced by U.S. Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in the Senate and in the House by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA), the TPPA is a positive step in ending government sanctioned profiling.

As part of our ongoing campaign to end religious and racial profiling, Muslim Advocates continues to educate and encourage lawmakers to take a leadership role in addressing the racial and religious profiling of travelers entering the country. The national visibility and press coverage generated by the Judiciary Committee hearings in June where Muslim Advocates offered testimony helped underscore the need for greater Congressional oversight and regulation.

If enacted, the legislation will directly address the growing practice of searches of laptops, digital cameras, cell phones and other electronic devices of citizens re-entering the country. Specifically, the bill would reform Customs and Border Protection (CBP) practices, restoring privacy protections over electronic devices such as laptops, prohibit racial and religious profiling in searches, and most significantly, mandate the collection and review of data on those being searched, which will assist oversight in determining the degree of profiling of racial and religious minorities.

Muslim Advocates encourages its members and allies to contact their lawmakers and encourage them to support the legislation, which will be re-introduced when the next session of Congress convenes in 2009.