Numbers Skyrocket On US Terrorist Watch List

Before 9/11 the terrorist watch list in the United States had less than 20 names. The list now has grown to include more than 755,000 names and more are added every day but that number is deceiving.

While the actual number of people on the list is over a staggering 300,000 persons the 755,000 includes all pseudonyms of suspects. Since the Terrorist Screening Center was created in 2003 to track terrorist the watch list has grown. The task of the TSC is to be aware of "known or appropriately suspected to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of or related to terrorism." Since 2003 the list has been used at least 53,000 times to either arrest or keep a person out of the United States. Most often those on the list have to deal with being questioned and released every time they have to enter the United States. There have been mistakes also when known terrorist have been able to make it onto flights into the country only to be stopped by customs once they are on the soil. There are also innocent people on the list being subjected to the eyes of suspicion.

"How much safer are we when the government turns so many innocent people into suspects?," ACLU senior legislative counsel Timothy Sparapani said in a statement.