HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT To apply to have your name cleared: • Go to http://www.tsa.gov/travelers; click on Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. • File a complaint online or by e-mail. • Send copies of identity documents. SCREENING FOR TERRORISM SCREENING FOR TERRORISM The number of terror watch-list records [ 1 ] more than quadrupled over roughly a three-year period: June 2004 158,374 May 2005 287,982 June 2006 515,906 May 2007 754,960 [ 1 ]: One record reflects one name but not necessarily one person. Source: Julie Snider, USA TODAY; Government Accountability Office Digg



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Facebook WASHINGTON  More than 15,000 people have appealed to the government since February to have their names removed from the terrorist watch list that delayed their travel at U.S. airports and border crossings, the Homeland Security Department says. TERROR WATCH: List swells to more than 755,000 The complaints have created such a backlog that members of Congress are calling for a speedier appeal system that would help innocent people clear their names so they won't fall under future suspicion. Among those who have been flagged at checkpoints: toddlers and senior citizens with the same names as suspected terrorists on the watch list. "To leave individuals in this purgatory is un-American," says Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., who says she'll introduce legislation to try to streamline the process. The Homeland Security Department says it gets about 2,000 requests a month from people who want to have their names cleared. That number is so high that the department has been unable to meet its goal of resolving cases in 30 days, says Christopher White, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, which handles the appeals. He says the TSA takes about 44 days to process a complaint. In February, the TSA launched the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, a one-stop shop for people to appeal links to the watch list, which flags anyone with potential ties to terrorism. The list has more than 750,000 names. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., says he will grill officials at a hearing on Thursday. "Given the widespread use of the terrorist watch list, the redress process is of paramount importance," he says. John Anderson of Minneapolis, who turned 6 on July 4, is among those who have been inconvenienced. He was first stopped at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2004, when his family took him for his first airplane ride to Disney World. "We checked in at the ticket counter, and the woman said in a stern voice, 'Who is John Anderson?' " says his mother, Christine Anderson. "I pointed to my stroller." Her son is allowed to fly. But because his name is flagged, his family cannot print out a boarding pass for him online and he must check in at the ticket counter so an airline official can see that he's a child. Christine Anderson says she has tried repeatedly to get her child's name cleared, but she can't find the right forms on the TSA website and none have come in the mail after officials promised to send them. "No one can give any answers to why my son is on the list or really how to get him off," she says. White says many names will be cleared when the government begins requiring air travelers to provide their birth date. The government won't start collecting that information until next year, he says. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge Family photo via AP John William Anderson, who was born on July 4, 2001, is on TSA's watch list. He was first stopped in 2004 when his mother and grandmother took him on his first plane ride to Disney World. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.