FBI terrorist list is full of errors
Audit shows 24,000 people should not be detained by officials
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
The FBI's terrorist watch list is riddled with inaccuracies, including 24,000 people who should not be banned from flying or entering the country and omissions of a few dozen individuals suspected of terrorism, according to the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Justice.
An audit by the inspector general supports what a number of Muslims have told The Detroit News over the past five years: They are continually stopped at border crossings or Detroit Metropolitan Airport based on the list, detained and questioned, sometimes for hours, and ultimately released.
"No one wants to jeopardize the security of the nation," said Sharif Gindy, an inventor and mechanical engineer from Macomb Township, who is frequently detained at the border -- even though he has contracts to supply components to the U.S. Army and NASA. "But no one wants to be identified as a terrorist every time they come home. It makes you feel like you are not at home."
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Of the 68,000 names submitted for inclusion on the list, 24,000 were attributed to closed investigations or probes that did not involve terrorism, the audit revealed. And 35 people under investigation for terrorism were not on the list.
Assistant FBI Director John Miller said the agency has addressed all 16 recommendations made by the inspector general, including improving accuracy and increasing training.
"We remain committed to improving our watch list policies and practices," Miller said.
Advocates for civil liberties say they are less impressed with the remedial efforts.
"It's one thing if people are detained the first time they cross the border," said Michael Steinberg, chief litigator of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. "But after they have been cleared and released it's disturbing that they are not removed from the list."
ACLU-Michigan is a party to an Illinois case in which the use of the terrorist watch list is challenged.
"Advocates have said all along that there were hundreds of people whose names were on that list who had no business being there," said Dawud Walid of the Council on American Islamic Relations, which is engaged in a running dispute with the FBI over its cooperation with the agency. "It shows how flawed the FBI's policy has been regarding surveillance and counter-terrorism intelligence."
gkrupa@detnews.com (313) 222-2359