AMTRAK and Real IDs

[zephyr17]

Long ago I read an interview with somebody at El Al, the airline of Israel. He said that if you get on an airplane in Israel, they know who you are, but that in America everybody's a suspect. I wish I'd saved that interview.

I wish you had, too. I'd love to see it.

 

[jis]

Long ago I read an interview with somebody at El Al, the airline of Israel. He said that if you get on an airplane in Israel, they know who you are, but that in America everybody's a suspect. I wish I'd saved that interview.

Having been through departure security at Ben Gurion many times I can attest to its thoroughness barring none.

Also all flights to Israel irrespective of originating airport undergo secondary security examination at the boarding gate AFAIK

 

[Stevenz]

If the cops are so hot to catch serious criminals, and they have good evidence that the suspect is passing through an airport, they can stop people who meet the suspect's description and check them against all the databases they want

That’s called profiling and it’s a no-no now. Many utterly sensible things are a no-no now.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Yes but the time they take to verify your identity, is an invitation to missing your flight.

It was around 15-20 minutes, which is not nothing but if that's all it took to miss your flight then you were already cutting it a bit too close. With KTN's, biometrics, and digital ID's becoming more common and accepted physical documents are becoming less relevant over time.

Link: https://www.tsa.gov/digital-id

Long ago I read an interview with somebody at El Al, the airline of Israel. He said that if you get on an airplane in Israel, they know who you are, but that in America everybody's a suspect. I wish I'd saved that interview.

Israel does not have a US Constitution to work within. In theory all airlines have to obey the US Constitution while operating in the US but in practice countries can ban you for any reason they see fit and the airline can say it was the country's decision and not theirs.

That’s called profiling and it’s a no-no now. Many utterly sensible things are a no-no now.

Terry vs. Ohio has been in effect for my entire life and I've seen police meet planes and trains looking for passengers matching a description or anyone alerted on by a dog more times than I can count. In addition the TSA, airport police, and CBP are allowed to cooperate in a way that proactively sidesteps former restrictions on search and seizure from before the creation of the DHS.