House Dem wants to beef up no-fly list to combat ISIS

The House border security subcommittee’s top ranking Democrat said Wednesday that the federal government should beef up its no-fly terrorist watchlist in light of threats posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). 

Lawmakers estimate that ISIS has as many as 1,000 members who have passports from U.S. or European nations that could be used to board flights to domestic airports.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said Wednesday that known ISIS members who are Western passport holders should be added to the federal government’s controversial no-fly list.

{mosads}“I want assurances today that these individuals have been appropriately watchlisted and placed on the no-fly list,” Jackson Lee said Wednesday during a hearing of the House subcommittee on border security.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have challenged the use of such a list in court. A federal court recently sided with the groups’ claim that it is too hard for passengers to challenge their placement on the list.

The rise of ISIS has also led some lawmakers to question the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows passengers from nearly 40 countries to travel to the U.S. without a visa. 

Jackson Lee defended the program, saying that “while VWP travelers usually do not need a visa to visit this country, they are currently vetted both prior to departure and upon arrival in the U.S.”