Gosztola writes: "An assistant federal security director for the
Transporation Security Agency's Office of Security Operations in Minneapolis
blew the whistle on a request from his supervisors to racially 'profile
Somali imams and community members visiting' his office."
TSA officer Robert Howard signals an airline passenger forward at a security
check-point at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Monday, Jan. 4, 2010.
Elaine Thompson/AP)
TSA Whistleblower Reveals Supervisors Instructed Him to Profile Somali Imams
By Kevin Gosztola, Shadowproof
01 May 16
An assistant director for the TSA in Minneapolis blew the whistle on a
request to racially profile Somali imams and community members.
An assistant federal security director for the Transporation Security
Agency's Office of Security Operations in Minneapolis blew the whistle on a
request from his supervisors to racially "profile Somali imams and community
members visiting" his office.
Testifying at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on
April 27, Andrew Rhoades indicated it was an instruction his supervisors
included in his mid-year evaluation. "I will not do this," Rhoades declared.
Rhoades also testified he was accused by a supervisor of "going native"
because he attended a meeting at a local mosque. He was engaged in
"community outreach," which has been encouraged by Homeland Security
director Jeh Johnson, and he was deeply offended by his supervisor.
"I take that to mean I'm somehow converting to Islam," Rhoades told the
Committee. "I'm acting as a native. It's a disgusting bigoted term, and when
I think of that within the context of my written mid-year evaluation that
tells me to profile Somali people, I'm disgusted by it. Going native? I'm
truly disgusted by it."
In March 2015, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on Mohamed Farah, the
executive director of Ka Joog, which is a community organization dedicated
to the empowerment of Somali American youth. The Star Tribune highlighted
the harassment Farah and other Somali Americans experience when trying to
travel through the Twin Cities airport.
"Despite security clearances from the FBI And the US Secret Service, the
Somali youth leader from Minneapolis says he cannot board a plane at the
Twin Cities airport without being stopped and double-screened by agents,"
according to the Star-Tribune. "En route to the White House last month,
Farah was pulled aside by local TSA agents, who conducted a body search and
uttered a demeaning comment before clearing him. After the summit, he said,
he endured the same profiling at Washington's Reagan International Airport
before he boarded a flight home."
Representative Lacy Clay asked Rhoades about Farah and the fact that an
agent said to him, "Were you going to make a run for it if I hadn't given
your ticket back?"
Rhoades was both reluctant to make specific statements about Farah's case,
however, he said, "Whether your black, white, male, female, Somali, Jew,
Christian, Hindu, we should treat you the same. And it doesn't matter if
you're flying on whatever airlines, you should be treated with respect."
When asked by Clay what could be done so Farah is no longer treated like a
second-class citizen, Rhoades suggested the TSA could use resources to put a
"passenger support specialist" on Farah when he travels. This would
potentially prevent agents from harassing him. Clay was not satisfied and
wondered why no agents have been disciplined.
The hearing was convened by the Committee to hear from current TSA employees
about retaliation and intimidation, along with other patterns of misconduct
within the government agency.
Rhoades described a "culture of misconduct, retaliation, lack of trust,
coverups, and the refusal to hold its senior leaders accountable for poor
judgment and malfeasance." He said he was the only TSA employee, whose
directed reassignment was accepted by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. He
was to be reassigned to a new office because his supervisors "mistakenly"
believed he had leaked information to the media in Minneapolis. (Directed
reassignments are used to shift employees to new offices around the country,
and during the hearing, there was ample evidence shared on how the
reassignments are used to coerce employees into retirement or simply remove
undesirable employees.)
According to Rhoades, a TSA assistant administrator sent "provocative
messages to a subordinate female under his purview. When questioned by an
[Office of Inspection] agent, he lied three times. A recommended penalty for
a single lack of candor associated with an official investigation is removal
of service." But high-ranking officials in the TSA office ignored the
misconduct and lying, and the person, who sent "provocative messages," is
still employed.
TSA has a "chronic indifference to investigating legitimate complaints,"
Rhoades said. "Moreover, my agency counsel employs misconduct and
malfeasance, and the vicious cycle continues."
When the culture is designed to suppress whistleblowers, why should any
Muslim American reasonably expect TSA employees to stand against profiling
or discrimination against travelers? Rhoades clearly appears to be the
exception and not the rule.
The Committee hearing largely ignored the extent to which TSA likely engages
in racial profiling of Muslim Americans. Rhoades claimed the request to
profile from his supervisors was an "unfortunate incident," which should not
be seen as "reflective of the entire U.S. government." However, in 2012, it
was reported by 30 TSA officers at the Logan International Airport in Boston
that a "behavior detection" program was a "magnet for racial profiling."
Though "Middle Easterners" were disproportionately targeted, the program was
also profiling Hispanic and black persons. Part of why this happened is
because managers demanded a "high numbers of stops, searches and criminal
referrals." Co-workers believed targeting minorities would likely "yield
drugs, outstanding arrest warrants, or immigration problems."
In 2013, there was more attention on racial profiling by TSA, particularly
when a Newark manager directed agents to engage in profiling and made
"racial comments" before he was fired.
When President Barack Obama's administration announced "new curbs on racial
profiling" in 2014, the change in policy exempted TSA and U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
It is important to acknowledge the "community outreach" program to Somali
American communities in the Twin Cities area has been criticized. The
Council on American Islamic Relations in Minnesota has objected the program
because it "discriminatorily targets the Muslim and Somali communities,
increasing policing and intelligence gathering under the guise of providing
social services." It also means singling out Muslim children in public
schools.
Throughout the past year, there has been a stark and disturbing rise in
Islamophobia in the United States. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of
CAIR Minnesota, said at a press conference in early April, "We have seen an
increase of Muslim employees being fired from their jobs in the Twin Cities
and the greater Minnesota for religious accommodations. We are concerned
about increased bullying in our schools that is targeting Muslim students."
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
TSA officer Robert Howard signals an airline passenger forward at a security
check-point at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Monday, Jan. 4, 2010.
Elaine Thompson/AP)
https://www.mintpressnews.com/tsa-whistleblower-reveals-supervisors-instruct
ed-profile-somali-imams/216015/https://www.mintpressnews.com/tsa-whistleblow
er-reveals-supervisors-instructed-profile-somali-imams/216015/
TSA Whistleblower Reveals Supervisors Instructed Him to Profile Somali Imams
By Kevin Gosztola, Shadowproof
01 May 16
An assistant director for the TSA in Minneapolis blew the whistle on a
request to racially profile Somali imams and community members.
n assistant federal security director for the Transporation Security
Agency's Office of Security Operations in Minneapolis blew the whistle on a
request from his supervisors to racially "profile Somali imams and community
members visiting" his office.
Testifying at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on
April 27, Andrew Rhoades indicated it was an instruction his supervisors
included in his mid-year evaluation. "I will not do this," Rhoades declared.
Rhoades also testified he was accused by a supervisor of "going native"
because he attended a meeting at a local mosque. He was engaged in
"community outreach," which has been encouraged by Homeland Security
director Jeh Johnson, and he was deeply offended by his supervisor.
"I take that to mean I'm somehow converting to Islam," Rhoades told the
Committee. "I'm acting as a native. It's a disgusting bigoted term, and when
I think of that within the context of my written mid-year evaluation that
tells me to profile Somali people, I'm disgusted by it. Going native? I'm
truly disgusted by it."
In March 2015, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on Mohamed Farah, the
executive director of Ka Joog, which is a community organization dedicated
to the empowerment of Somali American youth. The Star Tribune highlighted
the harassment Farah and other Somali Americans experience when trying to
travel through the Twin Cities airport.
"Despite security clearances from the FBI And the US Secret Service, the
Somali youth leader from Minneapolis says he cannot board a plane at the
Twin Cities airport without being stopped and double-screened by agents,"
according to the Star-Tribune. "En route to the White House last month,
Farah was pulled aside by local TSA agents, who conducted a body search and
uttered a demeaning comment before clearing him. After the summit, he said,
he endured the same profiling at Washington's Reagan International Airport
before he boarded a flight home."
Representative Lacy Clay asked Rhoades about Farah and the fact that an
agent said to him, "Were you going to make a run for it if I hadn't given
your ticket back?"
Rhoades was both reluctant to make specific statements about Farah's case,
however, he said, "Whether your black, white, male, female, Somali, Jew,
Christian, Hindu, we should treat you the same. And it doesn't matter if
you're flying on whatever airlines, you should be treated with respect."
When asked by Clay what could be done so Farah is no longer treated like a
second-class citizen, Rhoades suggested the TSA could use resources to put a
"passenger support specialist" on Farah when he travels. This would
potentially prevent agents from harassing him. Clay was not satisfied and
wondered why no agents have been disciplined.
The hearing was convened by the Committee to hear from current TSA employees
about retaliation and intimidation, along with other patterns of misconduct
within the government agency.
Rhoades described a "culture of misconduct, retaliation, lack of trust,
coverups, and the refusal to hold its senior leaders accountable for poor
judgment and malfeasance." He said he was the only TSA employee, whose
directed reassignment was accepted by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. He
was to be reassigned to a new office because his supervisors "mistakenly"
believed he had leaked information to the media in Minneapolis. (Directed
reassignments are used to shift employees to new offices around the country,
and during the hearing, there was ample evidence shared on how the
reassignments are used to coerce employees into retirement or simply remove
undesirable employees.)
According to Rhoades, a TSA assistant administrator sent "provocative
messages to a subordinate female under his purview. When questioned by an
[Office of Inspection] agent, he lied three times. A recommended penalty for
a single lack of candor associated with an official investigation is removal
of service." But high-ranking officials in the TSA office ignored the
misconduct and lying, and the person, who sent "provocative messages," is
still employed.
TSA has a "chronic indifference to investigating legitimate complaints,"
Rhoades said. "Moreover, my agency counsel employs misconduct and
malfeasance, and the vicious cycle continues."
When the culture is designed to suppress whistleblowers, why should any
Muslim American reasonably expect TSA employees to stand against profiling
or discrimination against travelers? Rhoades clearly appears to be the
exception and not the rule.
The Committee hearing largely ignored the extent to which TSA likely engages
in racial profiling of Muslim Americans. Rhoades claimed the request to
profile from his supervisors was an "unfortunate incident," which should not
be seen as "reflective of the entire U.S. government." However, in 2012, it
was reported by 30 TSA officers at the Logan International Airport in Boston
that a "behavior detection" program was a "magnet for racial profiling."
Though "Middle Easterners" were disproportionately targeted, the program was
also profiling Hispanic and black persons. Part of why this happened is
because managers demanded a "high numbers of stops, searches and criminal
referrals." Co-workers believed targeting minorities would likely "yield
drugs, outstanding arrest warrants, or immigration problems."
In 2013, there was more attention on racial profiling by TSA, particularly
when a Newark manager directed agents to engage in profiling and made
"racial comments" before he was fired.
When President Barack Obama's administration announced "new curbs on racial
profiling" in 2014, the change in policy exempted TSA and U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
It is important to acknowledge the "community outreach" program to Somali
American communities in the Twin Cities area has been criticized. The
Council on American Islamic Relations in Minnesota has objected the program
because it "discriminatorily targets the Muslim and Somali communities,
increasing policing and intelligence gathering under the guise of providing
social services." It also means singling out Muslim children in public
schools.
Throughout the past year, there has been a stark and disturbing rise in
Islamophobia in the United States. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of
CAIR Minnesota, said at a press conference in early April, "We have seen an
increase of Muslim employees being fired from their jobs in the Twin Cities
and the greater Minnesota for religious accommodations. We are concerned
about increased bullying in our schools that is targeting Muslim students."
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http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize