Controversial airport watchlist program terminated by DHS amid weaponization concerns

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is ending the Quiet Skies program, which near immoderate Americans taxable to further screenings astatine airdrome security.

The section says the bureau was overly politicized to either payment oregon wounded circumstantial radical and ran a measure of astir $200 cardinal annually. According to DHS, the programme kept a watchlist arsenic good arsenic a database of radical exempted. The section says Quiet Skies has not prevented immoderate violent attacks but volition proceed to usage different methods to guarantee harmless aerial travel.

"It is wide that the Quiet Skies programme was utilized arsenic a governmental rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its governmental foes and exploited to payment their well-heeled friends. I americium calling for a Congressional probe to unearth further corruption astatine the disbursal of the American radical and the undermining of US nationalist security," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said successful a statement.

GABBARD SLAMS 'POLITICALLY MOTIVATED' SURVEILLANCE AS EFFORT TO 'INTIMIDATE' HER FOLLOWING CRITICISM OF HARRIS

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem looks connected astatine the Coast Guard Academy Commencement successful New London, Connecticut, U.S. May 21, 2025.   ( REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin)

DHS says that the database of exemptions of radical who debar "security policies" included "foreign royal families, governmental elites, nonrecreational athletes, and favored journalists."

The programme that started successful 2010 was seen arsenic a panic prevention method, and it faced escalating scrutiny from the near and right, including groups similar the American Civil Liberties Union.

"TSA’s captious aviation and information vetting functions volition beryllium maintained, and the Trump Administration volition instrumentality TSA to its existent ngo of being laser-focused connected the information and information of traveling public. This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and adjacent exertion of the instrumentality for each Americans," Noem continued.

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Travelers marque their mode done Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport connected May 24, 2024 successful Arlington, Virginia. AAA projects travelers going 50 miles oregon much this Memorial Day vacation volition beryllium astir 44 cardinal people, a fig not seen since 2005. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

In 2018, the ACLU asked the Transportation Security Administration for much accusation astir the program.

"The TSA is engaging successful covert surveillance of travelers and raising a big of disturbing questions successful the process. While the program’s beingness is present public, the TSA has kept astir everything other astir the programme secret," Hugh Handeyside, elder unit lawyer with the ACLU’s National Security Project, said successful a 2018 quality release.

"Travelers merit to cognize however this surveillance is being implemented, what its consequences are for Americans, and for however agelong the TSA is retaining the accusation it gathers. What we’ve seen truthful acold is troubling, which is wherefore we’re demanding that the TSA manus implicit records it’s been hiding from the public. This is simply a overmuch needed measurement towards transparency and accountability for an bureau with a way grounds of utilizing unreliable and unscientific techniques, specified arsenic ‘behavior detection,’ to surface and show travelers who person done thing wrong," helium added.

REPUBLICANS LOOK TO ABOLISH TSA IN FAVOR OF PRIVATE SECURITY AT AIRPORTS

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, center, is flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, arsenic the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing, connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, connected Tuesday, March 25. All 3 answered questions astir the Signal substance concatenation leak. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

DHS pointed retired a circumstantial concern successful which William Shaheen, the hubby of New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, was removed from the database aft reaching retired to the erstwhile caput of TSA during the Biden medication successful 2023, according to CBS News. DHS said that helium "traveled with a known oregon suspected terrorist" 3 times.

The senator's bureau confirmed to CBS News she had reached retired to TSA aft her hubby dealt with aggravated information obstacles portion flying, but was unaware of immoderate circumstantial lists her hubby was oregon was not on. The outlet reported that helium was flying with an lawyer was taxable of the coercion flag. 

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The section besides cited Tulsi Gabbard’s past placement connected the Silent Partner Quiet Skies list. 

Fox News Digital reached retired to Shaheen’s bureau for comment.