The Bop Has Different Security Levels They Are:
- Federal Prison Camps minimum security facilities
- Federal Correctional Institutions low or medium security facilities
- United States Penitentiaries medium or high security facilities
- Federal Correctional Complexes Co-locations of BOP facilities and have different security locations and genders of inmates
Getting On A Government Watch List
Getting put on the watch list isn’t exactly like making prom queen, but it does require a nomination. An agent from the FBI, NSA or other federal agency nominates you. Then, that nomination moves on to the FBI’s Terrorist Review and Examination Unit. If you check out as a known or potential terrorist, it’s on to the Terrorist Screening Center and the watch list.
What exactly does it mean to be “appropriately suspected ” as a potential terrorist? The FBI and the federal government remain tightlipped about specific qualifications, continually referring back to the generic guidelines established in the Presidential Directive.
Besides having a criminal record for terrorist-related activities or known associations with terrorists or terrorist organizations, there are other ways people get pegged for the list. Active membership in some extremist groups could get you a spot. For instance, the eco-extreme group Earth Liberation Front has been the focus of FBI investigations for the property damage members have caused. The FBI calls this group’s activity “special interest terrorism” . But if you’re concerned that reading HowStuffWorks article How easy is it to steal a nuclear bomb will set off the fed’s alarm systems, don’t worry. Unless you actually attempt to steal a nuclear bomb yourself, you’re probably fine.
So what about all those average Joes who have been stopped and searched by government officials? Are they terrorists in sheep’s clothing?
Sex Offender Registry Websites
The National Sex Offender Public Websitecoordinated by the Department of Justiceenables every citizen to search the latest information from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and numerous Indian tribes for the identity and location of known sex offenders.
To run a search: Enter the site, select the I agree button under Conditions of Use, fill out the Search form, and select Search.
You can also search registry websites maintained by individual jurisdictions by following the links below. Note: the information contained in the national registry and the state and tribal registries is identical the national registry simply enables a search across multiple jurisdictions.
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Contact An Attorney If You Are Placed On A No Fly List In Error
The DHS TRIP process is designed to help those who have been delayed or detained in error because their names are like those who are on the list. In a few cases, however, people who are not terrorists have discovered themselvesas themselveson lists, without the opportunity to figure out why . If you are in this rare situation, contact your attorney for further steps.
Check Whether Your Name Appears On The Ofac Specially Designated Nationals List
The Office of Foreign Assets Control maintains a specific list of “specially designated nationals,” including suspected terrorists, with whom US firms are prohibited from doing business. Credit bureaus, landlords and potential employers have been using them to screen applicants, so make sure you’re not on this list. Check whether your name appears on the OFAC list:
1. Go to the OFAC website. 2. Select the link for “Specially Designated Nationals” list. 3. Use the Search and Find feature to look for your full name.
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How To Check An Employee Against The Government Watch List
In today’s political and legal climate, companies have to be more careful than ever to ensure their hires don’t present liabilities. Harboring criminals or illegal persons can lead to fines, lawsuits and regulatory action. Background investigations, which include checking the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list, have become a common human resources practice, recommended by organizations that include the Society for Human Resource Management. The Finance Industry Regulatory Authority requires specially designated nationals checks for all employees of investment firms and banks.
Companies doing their due diligence, will find the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has made this list highly accessible to the public. You may check the list directly yourself, or via a background search firm.
How To Land On The Government Watch List
Just like Santa Claus, the U.S. government has its own version of “the naughty list.” But this one doesn’t record boys and girls who fibbed or acted mean to schoolmates on the playground. Instead, the U.S. Government ‘s Consolidated Terrorist Watch List keeps track of people who are known or suspected terrorists. These are the people the U.S. government doesn’t want to board planes, enter the country or obtain a visa without a lot of hassle.
While the government makes no secret of the list’s existence, its official contents are off-limits to the public. That’s because the federal government believes if terrorists are aware of being on a watch list, they will become more vigilant and tricky in committing heinous crimes.
Before the Sept. 11 attacks, more than a dozen watch lists were floating around different federal agencies . Now, those records have been consolidated into one master list maintained by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center .
The development of TSC and the master list grew out of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 signed by President Bush in 2003. The directive outlined the federal government’s plan to combine all former watch lists into one master list of people “known or appropriately suspected to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism .”
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Us Government Now Publishing Terrorist Watch List Encounters At American Land Borders
AUSTIN, Texas Having covered the politically taboo threat of Islamic terrorist border crossings and even written a book about it, I have long had to contend with ungenerous government agencies that jealously guard all information about it from public disclosure.
So few other people could have been more surprised to find a brand new section on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Enforcement Statistics page titled, Terrorist Screening Database Encounters. In other words, theres now a public page where any American citizen can, for the first time, go to see the number of times federal agents have encountered an immigrant at both northern and southern land borders who was on the FBIs terrorist watch list.
One way to measure the significance of CBP providing such raw information to the general public is that, in the recent past, major American newspapers and television networks have staked their reputations on insisting that no terrorist suspects ever cross the border and that anyone who says otherwise, like former President Donald Trump did in 2018, is a big, fat, fear-mongering, racist liar. Otherwise, they refuse to report government evidence when it does make it to the public.
The controversy over whether terrorist suspects cross the land border has left many Americans confused over the years as to what is and isnt a phony political narrative about this one of many border threats.
The two categories differ significantly in meaning and implication.
Check Your Credit Reports For Ofac Alerts
Obtain a free copy of your credit report, since OFAC alerts may appear on them. Find out how to order your free credit reports from Annual Report.com. Even if you don’t find an alert, you may be flagged. According to Sinnar: “Despite the fact that the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to see all the information in their credit files, at least one major credit reporting agency reportedly includes OFAC alerts only on credit reports that are sent to businesses,” but not on copies sent to you.If you are flagged, you should contact the credit reporting agency to have your name removed.
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Fbi Fugitive And Most Wanted Search
CII will search the Federal Bureau of Investigation Wanted Search Center based on the applicants name and gender. The database allows for a single search that provides access to those individuals who are Fugitives, Missing Persons or are being sought for Information by the FBI in the following categories: Terrorism, Cyber Crime, Murder/Violent Crime, Bank Robbery, Kidnapping/Missing Persons, and Crimes against Children, Parental Kidnappings, Fraud/White T Collar Crime, and Criminal Enterprises/Drugs.
Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List Human Readable Lists
As part of its enforcement efforts, OFAC publishes a list of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries. It also lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. Collectively, such individuals and companies are called “Specially Designated Nationals” or “SDNs.” Their assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. View more information on Treasury’s Sanctions Programs.
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How To Get Off A Government Watchlist
Of course, if youre on the watchlist for a valid reason, get used to it. Otherwise, there is one action you can take to potentially have your name removed from the list.
However, be aware that removal of your name from the list can only be done by the agency that put you on the list in the first place. That means you have to find the agency that nominated you for the list and appeal to them directly. Yeah, good luck with that.
The Terrorist Screening Center And Redress
The Department of Homeland Securitys Traveler Redress Inquiry Program provides the public with a single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experience during travel screening at transportation hubs, such as being incorrectly delayed, denied boarding, identified for additional screening, or any other difficulties while traveling or seeking entry into the country. Since there are many reasons why a traveler may seek redress, DHS TRIP works with the TSC, as appropriate, when an inquiry appears to be related to the watchlist.
The TSC does not accept redress inquiries directly from the public. Instead, members of the public should contact the relevant screening agency with their questions or concerns about screening. The screening agency is in the best position to identify and resolve issues related to that agencys screening process. Information on how to contact screening agencies is listed below:
- For more information, or to file a redress request related to travel, please see the DHS TRIP website.
- The State Departments Bureau of Consular Affairs website provides information on how to seek redress for the denial of a visa. Individuals who are overseas should contact the U.S. embassy or consular office abroad regarding visa issues.
You can learn more about the Terrorist Screening Center by reviewing answers to our frequently asked questions.
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Hot And Cold Biden Administration Decides To Go With Hot
Its not clear why the Biden administration decided to do this. One official told me it was because media and members of Congress were increasingly demanding information about KST border crossings amid the historic ongoing mass migration crisis at the border, so why not lighten the work load?
As I reported recently, Fox News broke a story that DHS logged 23 terrorist encounters in the 2021 calendar year . Rep. Chip Roy got a return on an information demand for terrorist border encounters: 43 at both at and between ports of entry for the time period he requested .
I emailed a question to CBP public affairs, but didnt hear back right away.
For whatever reason, the page went up and kudos go to the Biden administration, which has proven either hot and cold on whether to ever acknowledge this threat.
As I wrote last year, the Biden administration went icy cold in April 2021, when it quickly quashed a CBP press release that provided exquisite detail about two Yemeni terror suspects caught in Calexico, Calif., in January and March 2021. The press release lasted a single day but still resides in the Internet archives.
The administration went hot last March, when Biden-appointed DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted to a U.S. House Homeland Security Committee hearing that KSTs have tried to cross the border, the land border … not only this year but last year, the year prior and so on and so forth. No one reported that but me, of course.
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Help Protect Your Organization
The OFAC and Patriot Act requires financial institutions to screen accounts against the OFAC listing. Facilitate compliance and help ensure that you are not conducting business with individuals who pose a threat to the United States.
Include this component of compliance by integrating the Global Watch List Search into your current account opening procedures.
What Is A Government Watchlist
A government watchlist is just a watchlist thats put together by the government rather than by a private entity. There are actually many government watchliststhe U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, and Treasury all have watchlists that may include different threats. Depending on what your business is about, you may need to use certain watchlists or all of them.One of the most comprehensive government watchlists is the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center watchlist, which allows you to look through individuals who may pose a domestic threat. This list is public and the U.S. Treasury updates it on a regular basis to include the most important individuals you might need to avoid.
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Terror Suspects Caught In The Brush
Except in this case I wrote about recently of a Lebanese-born Venezuelan who swam the Rio Grande River in December. ICE headquarters inexplicably overruled an FBI recommendation that he be detained as a flight risk and ordered him released to freedom in Detroit, where I last heard he was pursuing an asylum claim. The reason? He was overweight and at risk of catching Covid-19 in the detention facility.
Remember that not all terrorism-linked special interest aliens coming from nations of national security concern get as far as nomination and approval for the FBI terrorism watch list, which involves a lengthy, multi-tiered process.
Some 3,000 to 4,000 special interest aliens are caught between ports of entry every year from the same countries as those who do make the FBI terrorism watch list. Terror links may not come out until much later, after the individual is in the country. For example, a Somali who crossed into California, was flagged on no list, and went on to conduct a double-vehicle ramming attack carrying an ISIS flag in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Something else to keep in mind is that, as my CIS compadre Andrew Art Arthur has recently figured out from records in a federal court case, more than 650,000 immigrants who crossed the border since Bidens inauguration were never caught. They are known as got-aways.
Death And The Watchlist
The government has been widely criticized for making it impossible for people to know why they have been placed on a watchlist, and for making it nearly impossible to get off. The guidelines bluntly state that the general policy of the U.S. Government is to neither confirm nor deny an individuals watchlist status. But the courts have taken exception to the official silence and footdragging: In June, a federal judge described the governments secretive removal process as unconstitutional and wholly ineffective.
The difficulty of getting off the list is highlighted by a passage in the guidelines stating that an individual can be kept on the watchlist, or even placed onto the watchlist, despite being acquitted of a terrorism-related crime. The rulebook justifies this by noting that conviction in U.S. courts requires evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas watchlisting requires only a reasonable suspicion. Once suspicion is raised, even a jurys verdict cannot erase it.
Not even death provides a guarantee of getting off the list. The guidelines say the names of dead people will stay on the list if there is reason to believe the deceaseds identity may be used by a suspected terroristwhich the National Counterterrorism Center calls a demonstrated terrorist tactic. In fact, for the same reason, the rules permit the deceased spouses of suspected terrorists to be placed onto the list after they have died.
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Ways That You Could End Up On A Terrorist Watch List
Earlier this week, The Intercept published a 166-page document outlining the government’s guidelines for placing people on an expansive network of terror watch lists, including the no-fly list. In their report, Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Devereaux highlighted the extremely vague and loosely defined criteria developed by 19 federal agencies, supposedly to fight terrorism.
Using these criteria, government officials have secretly characterized an unknown number of individuals as threats or potential threats to national security. In 2013 alone, 468,749 watch-list nominations were submitted to the National Counterterrorism Center. It rejected only 1 percent of the recommendations.
Critics say the system is bloated and imprecise, needlessly sweeping up thousands of people while simultaneously failing to catch legitimate threats, like Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
While some individuals are surely placed on these watch lists for valid reasons, the murky language of the guidelines suggests that innocent people can get caught up in this web, too, and be subjected to the same possible restrictions on travel and other forms of monitoring. Here are several ways you could find yourself on a terror watch list, even if you aren’t a terrorist:
1. You could raise “reasonable suspicion” that you’re involved in terrorism. “Irrefutable evidence or concrete facts” are not required.
2. You could post something on Facebook or Twitter that raises “reasonable suspicion.”
