U S Marshals Services 15 Most Wanted List
The U. S. Marshals Service provides a multitude of services to federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations, including fugitive task force support for law enforcement agencies conducting internal investigations investigating alleged sex offenders pursuing unregistered and non-compliant sex offenders removing violent gang members, weapons, and drugs, from . . . communities and providing technologically advanced electronic surveillance and investigative intelligence to the USMS and other federal agencies throughout Mexico and the United States.
The USMS also maintains a list, similar to those of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and the Secret Services Most Wanted Fugitives. The USMSs own 2021 15 Most Wanted list includes the names of Derrell Brown, for whom a $25,000 reward is offered Michigan authorities want him on charges of receiving and concealing a firearm and on two counts of homicide. Other fugitives are wanted in several states on a variety of charges, including child rape, murder, double murder, unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and child molestation. All should be considered armed and dangerous.
You DONT want to be on this list, either!
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.
Related Websites
Hire trustworthy employees
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.
Don’t Miss: Best Free Government Cell Phone Service
More: ‘the Longest Shadow’: 20 Years Later 9/11 Families Seek Justice
“I said my final prayers as a Muslim ⦠I had nowhere , no one to call and no one to say anything to stop feeling of utter helplessness. I was ready to die. They removed my pants and they saw the blood everywhere. And they quickly just scurried out of the closet.”
Merchant, however, is not the only one. Many others are on the watchlist without knowing the reason behind it.
Abdulkadir Nur, who goes by Eno, is a 69-year-old U.S. citizen from Somalia who said he is also on the watchlist.
Nur travels often due to his humanitarian work with the United Nations, but every time he leaves the country, he said he undergoes extensive questioning and screening.
“You know, when I fly worldwide, I’ve never had any problems,” Nur said. “Actually, I’m being respected and welcomed everywhere. But when I’m coming to my country, the U.S., I feel like I’m criminal.”
While the TSA says a typical enhanced screening process takes 10 to 15 minutes, both Nur and Merchant said they had to miss multiple flights due to secondary questioning at airports.
Profiling Categories Of People
While the nomination process appears methodical on paper, in practice there is a shortcut around the entire system. Known as a threat-based expedited upgrade, it gives a single White House official the unilateral authority to elevate entire categories of people whose names appear in the larger databases onto the no fly or selectee lists. This can occur, the guidelines state, when there is a particular threat stream indicating that a certain type of individual may commit a terrorist act.
This extraordinary power for categorical watchlistingotherwise known as profilingis vested in the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, a position formerly held by CIA Director John Brennan that does not require Senate confirmation.
The rulebook does not indicate what categories of people have been subjected to threat-based upgrades. It is not clear, for example, whether a category might be as broad as military-age males from Yemen. The guidelines do make clear that American citizens and green card holders are subject to such upgrades, though government officials are required to review their status in an expedited procedure. Upgrades can remain in effect for 72 hours before being reviewed by a small committee of senior officials. If approved, they can remain in place for 30 days before a renewal is required, and can continue until the threat no longer exists.
Don’t Miss: Flex Modification Is A Free Government Program
Are You On The Governments Watch List
Question: What could happen when a guy goes into a store and buys some chemicals for his childs science fair project, and while hes there, also picks up a timer for his sprinkler?
Answer: He could go on a terrorist watch list.
If that sounds like a joke, it isnt. Thanks to the results of a meeting of U.S. intelligence officials in the White House Situation Room in March 2012, counterterrorism officials have succeeded in establishing a legal government dragnet that sweeps up records about U.S. citizens, including those suspected of no crimes.
Previously, the National Counterterrorism Center was barred from storing information about ordinary Americans unless they were terror suspects or were related to investigations. But now, the NCTC is allowed to copy entire government databases, including flight records, names of Americans hosting foreign exchange students and many others. And it can keep data about those innocent citizens for five years in order to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior.
I recently read an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Terrorism Agency to Tap a Vast Database of Citizens. Its pretty long, but well worth your time if you want to learn just how far this unprecedented government surveillance reaches.
The Secret Government Rulebook For Labeling You A Terrorist
The Obama administration has quietly approved a substantial expansion of the terrorist watchlist system, authorizing a secret process that requires neither concrete facts nor irrefutable evidence to designate an American or foreigner as a terrorist, according to a key government document obtained by The Intercept.
The March 2013 Watchlisting Guidance, a 166-page document issued last year by the National Counterterrorism Center, spells out the governments secret rules for putting individuals on its main terrorist database, as well as the no fly list and the selectee list, which triggers enhanced screening at airports and border crossings. The new guidelines allow individuals to be designated as representatives of terror organizations without any evidence they are actually connected to such organizations, and it gives a single White House official the unilateral authority to place entire categories of people the government is tracking onto the no fly and selectee lists. It broadens the authority of government officials to nominate people to the watchlists based on what is vaguely described as fragmentary information. It also allows for dead people to be watchlisted.
Recommended Reading: Work Overseas For The Government
Companies With Sensitive Information
Companies that have trade secrets, handle sensitive materials, or deal with critical information should conduct watch list searches on all applicants for positions that will have access to them.
You dont want to hire someone who might pose a threat to your companys trade secrets or your clients sensitive information.
More: Muslim Americans Confront Legacy Of 9/11 Islamophobia: ‘unspoken Tragedy’
With all of the challenges faced, Nur has filed a lawsuit against the FBI with the ââCouncil on American-Islamic Relations , a Muslim civil rights group, in hopes to have his name removed from the watch list. The process, if successful, could take years, according to his lawyer.
Merchant says she was able to get her name off the list after she confronted TSA and FBI officers during a closed-door meeting she was invited to in Orlando in 2018.
Now, Merchant hopes to use her experience to help others and shine a light on the issue.
“I don’t fear this anymore,” she said. “It built me up to be that voice for people who don’t have any. Even though I might be off the system, I am not really free until every one of them gets justice.”
You May Like: Government Assistance Buying A Car
Americans On Fbi Watchlist Face Detention Extra Screenings When Flying
The ACLU estimates 1.6 million people are currently on the federal watchlist.
Already missing their flight to Canada, Zainab Merchant held her then 6-month-old baby inside a cold room in an airport in September of 2016 while she waited for her husband’s screening to be over after her family was detained for a random security check by Transportation Security Administration agents.
Merchant said her family was stopped for one reason because she’s Muslim.
“At that moment, I honestly feared for us, because when I think the three-hour mark hit, you’re just sitting there waiting,” Merchant told ABC News. “We don’t know what’s going on with us. I just remember being very fearful about what was going on. It’s a few officers and yourself, and nobody is there. No other person was there with us. So just very lonely, cold, dark experience.”
Government Watch List Search: A Guide For Employers
A government watch list search helps companies screen out applicants that are suspected to have engaged in terrorism or related activities and would therefore pose a significant safety risk if hired.
At iprospectcheck, we conduct employment background checks, including government watch list checks, for companies across the nation in a variety of industries.
This guide outlines everything you need to know about government watch list checks.
You May Like: How Much Does Medicare Cost The Government Per Person
The Problem With Government Watchlists: Yahoo News Explains
In the days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government had an estimated 20 names on a master watchlist maintained by the Department of Transportation but in the 20 years since, the federal Terrorist Screening Database now tracks over 1 million people, including U.S. citizens. Hugh Handeyside, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU National Security Project, explains how the post-9/11 response to collect and share information between government agencies has created a system that threatens civil liberties.
How Big Is The Terrorist Watch List Who Is On It
What is often described as a single, unified list is actually a collection of lists, or databases, created or expanded under the George W. Bush administration to avoid the breakdowns in intelligence sharing that precipitated the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Heres how it breaks down:
The FBIs Terrorist Screening Database is the U.S. governments primary watch list, and what people usually mean when they refer to the terrorist watch list. It contains about 1 million records. About 5,000 of those records 0.5 percent are about Americans.
The screening database is subdivided into other lists. The most well-known of these is the no-fly list, whose members are barred from commercial air travel that passes through the United States. The no-fly list contains about 81,000 names, up from 16 on the eve of September 11, 2001. About 1,000 are Americans.
Though members of the no-fly list are not technically barred from entering the United States by other means, that often doesnt matter, as those who attempt to cross the border via land or sea are often detained and interrogated along their journeys. The FBI shares watch list information with other countries, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection gives recommendations to ship captains about passengers who may pose risks to transportation security.
Read Also: Some Of The Laws Governing Medicare Parts C And D
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 youre 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.
In todays political and legal climate, companies have to be more careful than ever to ensure their hires dont present liabilities. Harboring criminals or illegal persons can lead to fines, lawsuits and regulatory action. Background investigations, which include checking the U.S. Treasury Departments 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. Treasurys 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.
Us Government Watchlisting: Unfair Process And Devastating Consequences
The U.S. government today maintains a massive watchlisting system that risks stigmatizing hundreds of thousands of people, including American citizens, as known or suspected terrorists based on secret standards and secret evidence, without a meaningful process to challenge error and clear their names. The watchlists in this system are shared widely within the federal government, with state and local law enforcement agencies, and even with foreign governments, heightening the negative consequences for listed individuals. Being placed on a U.S. government watchlist can mean an inability to travel by air or sea invasive screening at airports denial of a U.S. visa or permission to enter to the United States and detention and questioning by U.S. or foreign authoritiesto say nothing of shame, fear, uncertainty, and denigration as a terrorism suspect. Watchlisting can prevent disabled military veterans from obtaining needed benefits, separate family members for months or years, ruin employment prospects, and isolate an individual from friends and associates.
You May Like: Data Governance Analyst Job Description
Want A Screening Solution That Consolidates The Top Government Watch Lists
In todays global economy, automated sanctions screening is the only way your business can identify transactions involving a designated person or entity and maintain compliance with denied party screening lists. CSIs WatchDOG® Elite allows companies to compare their customers names against national, global and government watch list searches.
Why Are Government Watchlists Different From Other Watchlists
While government watchlists are one of the most common watchlists to use, there are also other private watchlists out there. Why might you want to use a government watchlist instead of a private watchlist? There are many reasons a business might choose to use a government watchlist instead of a private one.
- More information
- Extremely comprehensive
- Foreign and domestic
Of course, this isnt a complete list of reasons, and there are many reasons you might want to use either a government watchlist or a private watchlist. However, the fact that government watchlists are public and include both foreign and domestic concerns is a significant reason many businesses use them.
You May Like: World Bank Federal Government Grant
Government Watch List Check Vs Verified Watch List
Tammy Cohen
For years, employers have been searching through government watch list and federal debarment databases to verify that their applicants and employees are eligible to work for their companies. These databases can also tell a company if their new hire or current employee is a known terrorist, drug trafficker, high-profile offender, or other potential liability.
However, a new service has entered the market that provides even better due diligence and peace of mind for employers: Verified Watch List.
InfoMart is the first in the industry to offer such a service, although many companies are sure to follow. As the importance of accurate and comprehensive applicant and employee information increases, so, too, will the need for verified services. Performing an unverified and potentially harmful government watch list check will soon be a thing of the past.
