PETITION CLOSED

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Urge the TSA to Clarify Its Position on Religious Profiling
  1. Signatures
    67 out of 100
    Petitioning
    1. Acting Administrator for the TSA (Gale Rossides)
  2. Created By
    Michael Jones
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter

A Muslim traveler in Washington, D.C. reported that as she went through security for her flight to Los Angeles, she was pulled aside by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel, asked to remove her Hijab, publicly patted down, and forced to have all of her belongings checked for bomb-making chemicals. At the end of the process, she was allegedly told by security personnel that "anyone wearing a head scarf must go through this type of search."

That's not airport security. That's religious profiling. As the Council for American-Islamic Relations points out, this doesn't make us safer, and violates some of the most sacred principles of our democracy.

Ask the TSA to clarify their position on whether Islamic head scarves, or hijab, will trigger additional security measures for Muslim travelers.

Recent Signatures

Please Clarify the TSA's Position on Travelers Wearing Islamic Head Scarves

Dear Ms. Rossides,

In the wake of heightened security efforts at all U.S. airports, one traveler from Washington Dulles International Airport reported that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel forced her to undergo extra security requirements, solely because she was wearing a Hijab -- an Islamic headscarf. At the end of the security procedure, which included a public full-body pat down and testing all of her belongings for bomb-making chemicals, the traveler was allegedly told by TSA personnel, "anyone wearing a head scarf must go through this type of search."

While we all recognize the need to keep America's airports safe, this allegation raises a number of red flags that the TSA might be heading toward a policy of religious profiling -- and away from previous TSA policy that dealt with religious clothing in a much more respectful manner. Can you clarify what the TSA's official position on Islamic head scarves, and indeed all religious clothing, is?

As the Council for American-Islamic Relations points out, religious profiling does not make us safer. It also violates some of the most sacred principles of American democracy, including respect for civil liberties and the rights of all U.S. residents, regardless of their religion, to not be forcibly subjected to search and seizure without probable cause.

Please clarify the TSA's policy. Our nation's airports deserve to be safe, and our civil liberties deserve to be protected.

[Your name]

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