Two weeks ago, I blogged about Yahya Wehelie, an American unable to board a flight from Egypt back to the United States because he has been placed on the no-fly list by the FBI. As a result, he is stuck in Cairo until he can find alternative means of travel. Mr. Wehelie has willingly endured hours of interrogation by the FBI to prove he poses no threat and even offered to be handcuffed during the flight just to get home, but to no avail.
Mr. Wehelie is not alone, nor is his predicament an exception. Thousands of people have been added to the "No Fly List" and barred from commercial air travel without any opportunity to learn about or refute the basis for their inclusion on the list. The result is a vast and growing list of individuals who, on the basis of error or innuendo, have been deemed too dangerous to fly but who are too harmless to arrest.
I'm proud to write that the ACLU is challenging this reprehensible policy.
Yesterday, the ACLU filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit on behalf of 10 U.S. citizens and lawful residents who are prohibited from flying to or from the United States or over U.S. airspace because they are on the government's "No Fly List."