the TSA to suspend the behavioral screening program and requested a congressional hearing

Transportation Security Administration officers at Logan International Airport say that fellow employees in the agency's Behavior Detection Program have been targeting minorities for questioning based on their race or ethnicity. The claims, first reported in The New York Times, prompted the TSA to open an internal inquiry.
"If any of these claims show correct, they will take immediate & decisive action to be definite there's consequences to such activity," the TSA said in a statement.
Airport screeners closer to having collective bargaining agreement.


Behavior detection is employed at airports across the country. Boston Logan launched a pilot expansion of the behavior detection program last year, adding casual conversation with passengers as a technique to detect behaviors that may indicate security threats.
The TSA says officers ought to flag passengers for additional screening based only on observed behaviors.
Some Boston officers have complained to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. ACLU attorney Sarah Wunsch, who has spoken with ten officers accusing their colleagues of racial profiling, told CNN that officers are targeting racial & ethnic groups including Mexicans, African-Americans & Brazilians for secondary screening.
On Tuesday, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi called for the TSA to suspend the behavioral screening program & requested a congressional hearing. Thompson is the rating Democrat on the House committee on homeland security
Rep. Bill Keating of Massachusetts, a top Democrat on the House oversight & inquiry subcommittee for homeland security, has also called for a probe in to the allegations.