Transportation Security Administration |

“Sikhs are the Michael Jordan of getting searched at the airport”

September 20, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On the television show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (airing on the FXX network), Hari Kondabolu discusses the TSA’s Pre-Check program, which — for an $85 dollar fee — allows pre-screened enrollees to receive an expedited inspection process at selected airports across the country. Kondabolu suggests that this program does not go far enough in addressing the racial profiling experienced by many Sikh and South Asian travelers (and anecdotal evidence from several Sikhs recently suggests that racial profiling has […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Humor • Tags: Hari Kondabolu, Pre-check, Racial profiling, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, W. Kamau Bell

Zahir Janmohamed. (Source: ZahirJanmohamed.com)

Writer Zahir Janmohamed on being one of color

July 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In Guernica, writer Zahir Janmohamed reflects on being a writer of color (via the blog Love, Inshallah): I wanted to say I am not a political writer. My life has never been political, but sometimes, like that one time when I was dressed in my swim trunks and flip flops and flew to Miami with my friends and a TSA agent pulled me aside and questioned me about the nature of “my business in the U.S.,” well, then the story […]

Categories: Literature, Reflections • Tags: 2002 Gujarat violence, Guernica, Transportation Security Administration, Zahir Janmohamed

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A mock advertisement was recently placed on a retail website that was actually a satirical statement about the TSA's security procedures. (source: Amazon)

Still the TSA after all these years

February 19, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

What does one do when an officer of a government agency does not follow their own policy and in the process violates your rights? If we are speaking about the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), we often don’t know. On the Huffington Post, Simran Jeet Singh shares a recent episode when a TSA officer forcefully patted down Singh’s turban — a religious article of faith for Sikhs: I’ve made this cross-country journey hundreds of times in my life and have […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Racial profiling, Simran Jeet Singh, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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When profiling begets more profiling

July 6, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Meeta Kaur writes an article about the scrutiny of Sikh turbans at our nation’s airports and the latest on the FlyRights app that allows submission of TSA-related complaints via a smartphone: [Sikh Coalition Director of Programs Amardeep Singh says] “When Sikhs are pulled aside for extra scrutiny in the most security sensitive area in the United States (airport security), that act by the federal government reinforces stereotypes that people already have of Sikhs. If the object that is most feared […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: FlyRights, Meeta Kaur, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, Turban

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The Sikhs and the TSA, with a twist

June 13, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and their issues around apparent racial profiling of Sikhs has been a recurring topic on this blog, however, an interesting twist in the news came out recently where the TSA was found to be discriminating against a Sikh employee: Kulwinder Singh called it a violation of his religious rights, and took his case to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC determined that the Transportation Security Administration was wrong to have Singh hide his […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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Sikh Coalition hits a home run with FlyRights app

May 1, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

By now, you have likely heard of the smartphone app (available for iPhone and Android devices) released by the Sikh Coalition called FlyRights, which was released yesterday (April 30), and is free of cost. The news of this app’s release has spread virally among news outlets and has been applauded by other civil rights organizations and the general public. FlyRights allows travelers (Sikh or otherwise) to now report complaints to the TSA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) if they […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Android, FlyRights, iconify, iPhone, Racial profiling, Sikh Coalition, smartphone app, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

The Sikh Coalition frisks the TSA

February 3, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Coalition, a national Sikh American advocacy organization, has obtained and released an internal TSA memo that suggests that the TSA has the ability to monitor the extent of racial profiling occurring in their screening procedures at airports. As the Sikh Coalition describes, ethnic profiling is of particular concern among Sikhs in this country: Since 2007, Sikh travelers have reported that they are routinely selected for secondary screening at some American airports, even after clearing advanced imaging technology machines without […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reports/Studies • Tags: Airport, Airport security, Racial profiling, Sikh Coalition, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

The day I racially profiled myself

September 26, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Upon booking my flight for a recent vacation, it was a routine consideration that I would need to make sure I gave myself enough time to check in at the airport, because I knew I would be subject to extra screening. As a turban-wearing man of Indian descent, I have heeded the notifications and have become used to added scrutiny and inspection when I travel through the country’s airports, which usually consists of additional pat-downs, turban inspections, and a review of my travel […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Airport security, Post-9/11, Racial profiling, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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TSA, USA cont’d

July 14, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent update on the Sikh Coalition’s Twitter feed suggested that perhaps things had changed with the United States’ Transportation Security Administration (the TSA): SikhCo Program Director experiences NO 2ndary screening of turban at JFK airport. Sign of change? Skeptical. #racialprofiling #sikhcoalition — Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) June 24, 2011 Their skepticism is justified.

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, Sikh Coalition, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Transportation Security Administration

“Sikhs are the Michael Jordan of getting searched at the airport”

Writer Zahir Janmohamed on being one of color

Still the TSA after all these years

When profiling begets more profiling

The Sikhs and the TSA, with a twist

Sikh Coalition hits a home run with FlyRights app

The Sikh Coalition frisks the TSA

The day I racially profiled myself

TSA, USA cont’d