December 18, 2007 10:06AM

Lipstick on a Pig

By Jim Harper

The Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Redress Act of 2007 is a recently introduced bill that would establish a dedicated agency within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate and streamline the appeals of people who believe they have been wrongly watch‐​listed by DHS or the Department of Justice. This office would maintain a “Cleared List” of names that have been identified as not representing a risk.


This is not an answer. As I’ve written before, watch‐​listing is alien to our system of justice and law enforcement. And because of the potential for opening holes in the pseudo‐​security watch‐​listing provides, getting “cleared” by this office would be a bureaucratic nightmare.


This proposal is lipstick on a pig. The pig is watch‐​listing.