Sergeant Sonya Westbrook
Police Department
Reagan National Airport
Washington, DC
20001-4901
CC: US Senator Jim Webb, US Senator John Warner, US Congressman Virgil Goode,
Virginia Delegate David Toscano, TSA Director Kip Hawley,
Dear Sergeant Westbrook,
I am writing to you to follow up on our conversion at Washington Reagan National Airport on February 19 2007.
On February 19 2007, you were called over to a security checkpoint where I was undergoing "secondary screening" by TSA checkpoint staff. I held a valid ticket on a Northwest Airlines flight to Indianapolis, and a boarding pass that had been marked "No ID" by airline staff. I requested this special pass at check-in, as I did not want to present ID to TSA staff. During the secondary screening process, TSA screeners called you over, at which point, you compelled me to show ID. The purpose of this letter is to get information about your demand that I show you my ID.
In September of 2006, I flew to Washington DC from Indianapolis on Northwest Airlines. I told the check-in agent that I was asserting my right to fly without showing any ID, and would be happy to submit myself to additional screening measures. To help things along, I brought a copy of the US Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) opinion in the case Gilmore vs. Gonzales, so that I could point out the specific text which states that passengers can fly without ID. The supervisor at the Northwest check-in desk spoke to me in an attempt to understand my intentions. She then suggested that in future trips, that I should claim that I had forgotten/lost my ID. She said that Northwest staff were clearly trained to work with passengers in this situation, and that it would be easier for me, and her colleagues, if I gave this reason for not showing ID. She advised me that attempting to assert my right to fly without ID would just confuse her staff, and that Northwest staff would print me out a "SSSS" (secondary screening) boarding pass whenever I needed one, without any problems or delay, as long as I presented my situation in such a way that their staff could easily understand what I needed. I documented my experience that day here: http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2006/09/tsa-love.html
The US Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) opinion in the case Gilmore vs. Gonzales states that: "As noted, we have reviewed in camera the materials submitted by the Government under seal, and we have determined that the TSA Security Directive is final within the meaning of § 46110(a). The Security Directive “imposes an obligation” by requiring airline passengers to present identification or be a “selectee,” and by requiring airport security personnel to carry out the policy. The Security Directive also provides a “definitive statement” of TSA’s position by detailing the policy and the procedures by which it must be effectuated (page 1148)"
It later stated that "The identification policy requires that airline passengers either present identification or be subjected to a more extensive search. The more extensive search is similar to searches that we have determined were reasonable and “consistent with a full recognition of appellant’s constitutional right to travel" (page 1155)." The full opinion of the court can be viewed here: http://www.papersplease.org/gilmore/_dl/GilmoreDecision.pdf
I have flown without any federal photo ID at least 8 times in the past year, on multiple airlines. These have included Northwest, American, Continental and Midwest. On at least three occasions, I have successfully been able to fly without a single piece of identification out of DCA Airport. A number of other US citizens have also done this, and documented their experiences, including Mr Jim Harper, a member of the DHS Privacy Advisory Committee (see: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71115-0.html).
On February 19 2007 at DCA Airport, during the the secondary screening process, I explained to the TSA screeners exactly why I had a "No ID" boarding pass - marked that way by a Northwest check-in agent. I told them that there is no law that requires that passengers present any ID to a government employee in order to fly, and that the only reason I was undergoing secondary screening was due to the fact that I was not showing them any ID. They told me that unless I showed them ID, that they would be forced to call over a law enforcement officer. They also warned me that this could cause me to miss my flight. I said this would not be a problem.
As part of the secondary screening process, I went through a magnetometer and underwent a full pat down by a TSA agent. My carry on bag was thoroughly searched, my prescription medicines examined, and all of my possessions swabbed and then analyzed for chemical/explosive traces. I willingly complied with the secondary screening process. Had I not declined to show ID, I would have been able to go through the security checkpoint in a couple of minutes without any of these additional searches.
It is at this point that we met. You introduced yourself, asked me why I did not wish to show ID, and then told me that I was obligated to show ID, to you. I asked you to confirm that you were compelling me to show ID, and you confirmed this. I again stated my belief that there was no law that required passengers to show ID to government employees in order to fly, but that since you were ordering me to present an ID, I would do so. I asked a TSA staff member to remove my wallet from my bag, who gave it to you. I then asked you to hand me my wallet, which you did. I removed my Virginia drivers license, handed it over to you, and waited.
You then read my drivers license number into your radio, and had a colleague of yours perform some kind of criminal record check on me. After this came up negative, you handed my license over to the TSA employees, who wrote down my personal information for the incident report that they were preparing.
At this point, there were 2 TSA screeners, 2 TSA supervisors in suits, and yourself, an armed police officer. I believe that it was quite reasonable for me to feel intimidated by this large gathering of law enforcement and security officers around me, all of whom were telling me that I was required to show ID. While I was, and still am confident that the law is on my side, I did not feel comfortable enough to risk any kind of major confrontation, and thus complied with your order. I know that it is better to state my objection, obey police orders, and then contest them after the fact.
I ask that you provide me with the following information:
1. What is the specific law or rule which allowed you to compel me to provide ID.
2. If I had not agreed to show you ID, how would you have responded? Would you have stopped me from flying?
3. What if any probable cause or reasonable suspicion did you have to compel me to show you my ID.
4. My boarding pass stated my full name and I introduced myself by full name to you when we met. Please explain the additional requirement that I show ID to you. This would seem to fall far beyond the requirements outlined in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada.
5. Why did you give my drivers license to TSA staff - when the sole reason I submitted myself to the secondary screening process was so that I would not have to identify myself to TSA?
6. What is the specific law or rule which allowed you to give my drivers license, and thus access to my personal information, to the TSA employees - who would then use it to write a report. I had clearly expressed my intent to not show my identity documents to TSA.
I have full respect for the police, and I understand that you have a tough and stressful job. I ask, however, that you please respond to my questions in full.
I also ask that you confirm receipt of this letter, by US mail, within 10 working days.
Thank you,
Christopher Soghoian
Showing posts with label ID. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ID. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
No ID on United: Piece of Cake
A trusted friend of mine flew out of San Francisco on a domestic United Airlines flight yesterday.
He realized earlier in the day that he had forgotten his wallet, and emailed me for advice/info. I sent him a pointer to the Appeals Court ruling in Gilmore vs. Gonzales, as well as a few news articles that tell you what to say at the airport.
He said he didn't have a single problem. The United check-in employee didn't bat an eyelid when he was told that my pal didn't have a single piece of ID. The employee typed in a few keystrokes on his computer, and out came a special SSSS boarding pass.
Likewise, at the TSA checkpoint, the person checking his pass shouted "secondary" and then let him bypass the entire security line. He was also able to successfully (and without any pushback from TSA) decline to go through the evil puffer machine, and instead opt for a hand pat down.
Total time to go through security: Less than 10 mins.
The knowledge that you were able to fly without presenting your papers: Priceless.
He realized earlier in the day that he had forgotten his wallet, and emailed me for advice/info. I sent him a pointer to the Appeals Court ruling in Gilmore vs. Gonzales, as well as a few news articles that tell you what to say at the airport.
He said he didn't have a single problem. The United check-in employee didn't bat an eyelid when he was told that my pal didn't have a single piece of ID. The employee typed in a few keystrokes on his computer, and out came a special SSSS boarding pass.
Likewise, at the TSA checkpoint, the person checking his pass shouted "secondary" and then let him bypass the entire security line. He was also able to successfully (and without any pushback from TSA) decline to go through the evil puffer machine, and instead opt for a hand pat down.
Total time to go through security: Less than 10 mins.
The knowledge that you were able to fly without presenting your papers: Priceless.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A clearer picture of how to fly with no ID
I flew from Philly back to Indianpolis today on Continental, and again got to try out the no ID experience (putting me up to a grand total of 5 flights without any ID at all, and 1 flight with my student ID).
I used the easy check-in machine at the airport to print out my boarding pass (by punching in my confirmation code - no credit card/ID necessary). I then told the Continental employee behind the counter that I had lost my ID at a bar the night before, and that I wasn't going to be able to produce any ID. One key question she (and her supervisor) seemed to find important was if this was my outgoing, or return flight. It seems they're more willing to be a bit flexible if you're 'stranded' somewhere.
Like last time, I told them I had read in the New York times that you can fly without ID if you get a special "SSSS" boarding pass. They didn't seem to be too happy to know that I knew their secret SSSS code...
I had handed over my boarding pass to them, and as she read me the rules, it seemed clear that she wasn't going to give it back to me without any ID. In the end, I handed over my Library of Congress 'reader' photo ID, and she wrote "SSS" (her mistake, not mine) on the boarding pass in ink.
Once I got to the TSA checkpoint, I told them I didn't have a single piece of ID - which worked just fine. Sure, I got checked, but I didn't have to show them anything at all, other than the marked boarding pass.
After I had gone through security, I asked some of the TSA guys a few questions:
Q: If I don't have SSSS on my boarding pass, will you let me go through security without any ID?
A: No.
Q: Will TSA write SSSS on my boarding pass if I don't have any ID?
A: No. You must get it done by the airline.
Q: What happens if I show up to a TSA checkpoint without any ID and a vanilla boarding pass
A: We will send you back to the airline.
My absolute favourite question during this chat was the following:
Q: How do you know if I didn't just write the letters "SSSS" on the boarding pass myself
A: We know. There are secret things that the airline staff will write that you won't recognize.
Q: But the woman at Continental forgot one of the S's on this boarding pass. Are you sure they know your secret signals?
A: Move along.
---------
As you can see, I am essentially engaged in a delicate form of black-box testing of the airport security system - an extremely delicate form - where half of the tests I'd like to (but do not) run may land me in jail.
A few things now seem to be clear:
You can easily travel without showing a single piece of ID to TSA. However, you will need to have a boarding pass marked with the magic letters "SSSS".
Some airlines - like Northwest - will quite happily give you a special, machine-printed SSSS pass if you tell them you have forgotten ID.
Other airlines - like Continental - will require 'some' form of ID. This can be satisfied with some pretty weak forms of ID, such as a credit card, or a library card.
Let us, for the sake of discussion, imagine a scenario where you are unable to fly on Northwest airlines (or another no-ID friendly airline), and thus have to deal with an airline that requires ID. Let us also assume that you do not want to have to procure a library card in a fake name.
What can you do?
Check-in online, 24 hours before the flight, and print out your own boarding pass.
or
Use one if the easy check-in terminals at the airport, and punch in your flight confirmation number.
If you do not try to check a bag, you will never have to interact with an airline employee.
Ok - so you now have a vanilla boarding pass, but since the letters SSSS haven't been written on it, TSA won't let you pass. What can you do?
The obvious answer, of course, would be to write the letters "SSSS" on the boarding pass yourself - using a sharpie pen. The problem with this, is that I'm guessing it's probably illegal. As the Gilmore case demonstrated, TSA is extremely tight-lipped regarding their ID requirements. Once things calm down with my case, I'll write TSA a nice friendly letter to see what they say. In the mean time - let me be as clear as possible - I am in no way encouraging anyone to write "SSSS" on their own boarding pass. It is probably very very illegal.
However, as things currently stand, unless I've missed something, it seems that the only thing stopping you from flying without any ID on continental airlines, is a sharpie pen, and a willingness to break a couple rules.
By taking down my fake boarding pass website a few months back, TSA was able to successfully stop a would be computer-owning terrorist from avoiding the no-fly list with a fake pass. Well, that is, a terrorist who didn't have the skills to google to find the other boarding pass generators that are still out there.
Luckily, we're safe. Terrorists have not yet been spotted with sharpie pens.
I used the easy check-in machine at the airport to print out my boarding pass (by punching in my confirmation code - no credit card/ID necessary). I then told the Continental employee behind the counter that I had lost my ID at a bar the night before, and that I wasn't going to be able to produce any ID. One key question she (and her supervisor) seemed to find important was if this was my outgoing, or return flight. It seems they're more willing to be a bit flexible if you're 'stranded' somewhere.
Like last time, I told them I had read in the New York times that you can fly without ID if you get a special "SSSS" boarding pass. They didn't seem to be too happy to know that I knew their secret SSSS code...
I had handed over my boarding pass to them, and as she read me the rules, it seemed clear that she wasn't going to give it back to me without any ID. In the end, I handed over my Library of Congress 'reader' photo ID, and she wrote "SSS" (her mistake, not mine) on the boarding pass in ink.
Once I got to the TSA checkpoint, I told them I didn't have a single piece of ID - which worked just fine. Sure, I got checked, but I didn't have to show them anything at all, other than the marked boarding pass.
After I had gone through security, I asked some of the TSA guys a few questions:
Q: If I don't have SSSS on my boarding pass, will you let me go through security without any ID?
A: No.
Q: Will TSA write SSSS on my boarding pass if I don't have any ID?
A: No. You must get it done by the airline.
Q: What happens if I show up to a TSA checkpoint without any ID and a vanilla boarding pass
A: We will send you back to the airline.
My absolute favourite question during this chat was the following:
Q: How do you know if I didn't just write the letters "SSSS" on the boarding pass myself
A: We know. There are secret things that the airline staff will write that you won't recognize.
Q: But the woman at Continental forgot one of the S's on this boarding pass. Are you sure they know your secret signals?
A: Move along.
---------
As you can see, I am essentially engaged in a delicate form of black-box testing of the airport security system - an extremely delicate form - where half of the tests I'd like to (but do not) run may land me in jail.
A few things now seem to be clear:
You can easily travel without showing a single piece of ID to TSA. However, you will need to have a boarding pass marked with the magic letters "SSSS".
Some airlines - like Northwest - will quite happily give you a special, machine-printed SSSS pass if you tell them you have forgotten ID.
Other airlines - like Continental - will require 'some' form of ID. This can be satisfied with some pretty weak forms of ID, such as a credit card, or a library card.
Let us, for the sake of discussion, imagine a scenario where you are unable to fly on Northwest airlines (or another no-ID friendly airline), and thus have to deal with an airline that requires ID. Let us also assume that you do not want to have to procure a library card in a fake name.
What can you do?
Check-in online, 24 hours before the flight, and print out your own boarding pass.
or
Use one if the easy check-in terminals at the airport, and punch in your flight confirmation number.
If you do not try to check a bag, you will never have to interact with an airline employee.
Ok - so you now have a vanilla boarding pass, but since the letters SSSS haven't been written on it, TSA won't let you pass. What can you do?
The obvious answer, of course, would be to write the letters "SSSS" on the boarding pass yourself - using a sharpie pen. The problem with this, is that I'm guessing it's probably illegal. As the Gilmore case demonstrated, TSA is extremely tight-lipped regarding their ID requirements. Once things calm down with my case, I'll write TSA a nice friendly letter to see what they say. In the mean time - let me be as clear as possible - I am in no way encouraging anyone to write "SSSS" on their own boarding pass. It is probably very very illegal.
However, as things currently stand, unless I've missed something, it seems that the only thing stopping you from flying without any ID on continental airlines, is a sharpie pen, and a willingness to break a couple rules.
By taking down my fake boarding pass website a few months back, TSA was able to successfully stop a would be computer-owning terrorist from avoiding the no-fly list with a fake pass. Well, that is, a terrorist who didn't have the skills to google to find the other boarding pass generators that are still out there.
Luckily, we're safe. Terrorists have not yet been spotted with sharpie pens.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
No ID with Continental?
Yesterday, en-route to DIMACS, I flew from Indianapolis to New Jersey.
Given that all of my previous no-ID experiences were with Northwest, I thought that this trip - on Continental Airlines - would be a fantastic chance to see how things work for other airlines.
In my previous experience with NWA, I was instructed by a check-in desk supervisor to simply present myself at their check-in desks, and tell them that I had forgotten my ID. This happens often enough, I was told, that they had a clear procedure for it..
And sure enough, every time I flew NWA (either out of Indianapolis, or Reagan airport in Washington DC), the check-in employee would happily print out a special "SSSS" boarding pass after being told I didn't have ID. Simple enough.
Continental is different.
Armed with a legitimate print-at-home boarding pass, I told the check-in desk employee that I had forgotten my drivers license, and had no other government ID on me. He read me their full rules regarding ID's, and said without an ID, there was no way they'd let me fly today. I asked him what happened when other passengers forget their ID, and he told me that in such cases, they rebook the passenger to fly another day. I also asked what happened when someone's wallet was lost/stolen on vacation - and he said they would only let them fly with a police report. I told him I had read in the newspaper that you were allowed to fly without ID if you submitted yourself to a more strict search. He asked which newspaper, and I responded with "The New York Times" - he rolled his eyes.
Shocking stuff.
The best (and most amusing) part of my interaction with the check-in employee was at the very end of the conversation:
Him: Since then, everything has changed. We've gotta be careful now. Thats why we check ID.
Me: Since when?
Him: More people died on 9/11 than Pearl Harbor
Me: Yes, but more Americans have died in Iraq than on 9/11.
Him: *thinking*... We gave them 2 or three chances before we attacked, and they didn't stop.
Me: "them"? most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and we're still buying oil from them. There were no Iraqi 9/11 attackers.
Him: They're all the same....
At this point, I turned around and left... It wasn't going anywhere, and I was going to get myself in trouble if I started an argument.
So - it seems clear that if you want to fly without ID, then flying on Continental Airlines could be difficult. To do so, you're going to need to interact with TSA - and tell them that you don't have any ID... This is always a dangerous thing, since TSA can be so unpredictable (and rather arbitrary in their decisions).
I didn't to risk being denied entry to the gate by TSA, so instead, I tried to fly with an alternate ID.
I'd read somewhere that the ID given by a state-university (like IU) counts as government ID.
I walked up to the TSA checkpoint, presented my IU Student ID to the rent-a-cop checking ID's before the TSA checkpoint. She looked at it and then asked me for my drivers license... After I told her I didn't have one on me, she asked me for a second piece of ID. I showed her my credit card, after which, she promptly wrote "SSSS" and "ID" in big letters on my print-at-home boarding pass.
From that point on, it was the usual heavy duty search. Every item in my bag searched, and swabbed, etc.
Interesting Times.
Given that all of my previous no-ID experiences were with Northwest, I thought that this trip - on Continental Airlines - would be a fantastic chance to see how things work for other airlines.
In my previous experience with NWA, I was instructed by a check-in desk supervisor to simply present myself at their check-in desks, and tell them that I had forgotten my ID. This happens often enough, I was told, that they had a clear procedure for it..
And sure enough, every time I flew NWA (either out of Indianapolis, or Reagan airport in Washington DC), the check-in employee would happily print out a special "SSSS" boarding pass after being told I didn't have ID. Simple enough.
Continental is different.
Armed with a legitimate print-at-home boarding pass, I told the check-in desk employee that I had forgotten my drivers license, and had no other government ID on me. He read me their full rules regarding ID's, and said without an ID, there was no way they'd let me fly today. I asked him what happened when other passengers forget their ID, and he told me that in such cases, they rebook the passenger to fly another day. I also asked what happened when someone's wallet was lost/stolen on vacation - and he said they would only let them fly with a police report. I told him I had read in the newspaper that you were allowed to fly without ID if you submitted yourself to a more strict search. He asked which newspaper, and I responded with "The New York Times" - he rolled his eyes.
Shocking stuff.
The best (and most amusing) part of my interaction with the check-in employee was at the very end of the conversation:
Him: Since then, everything has changed. We've gotta be careful now. Thats why we check ID.
Me: Since when?
Him: More people died on 9/11 than Pearl Harbor
Me: Yes, but more Americans have died in Iraq than on 9/11.
Him: *thinking*... We gave them 2 or three chances before we attacked, and they didn't stop.
Me: "them"? most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and we're still buying oil from them. There were no Iraqi 9/11 attackers.
Him: They're all the same....
At this point, I turned around and left... It wasn't going anywhere, and I was going to get myself in trouble if I started an argument.
So - it seems clear that if you want to fly without ID, then flying on Continental Airlines could be difficult. To do so, you're going to need to interact with TSA - and tell them that you don't have any ID... This is always a dangerous thing, since TSA can be so unpredictable (and rather arbitrary in their decisions).
I didn't to risk being denied entry to the gate by TSA, so instead, I tried to fly with an alternate ID.
I'd read somewhere that the ID given by a state-university (like IU) counts as government ID.
I walked up to the TSA checkpoint, presented my IU Student ID to the rent-a-cop checking ID's before the TSA checkpoint. She looked at it and then asked me for my drivers license... After I told her I didn't have one on me, she asked me for a second piece of ID. I showed her my credit card, after which, she promptly wrote "SSSS" and "ID" in big letters on my print-at-home boarding pass.
From that point on, it was the usual heavy duty search. Every item in my bag searched, and swabbed, etc.
Interesting Times.
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