Democrats in Congress call for action on flaws in terrorist watchlist

A group of Democrats in Congress is calling on the Biden administration to review the redress process for removing people from the federal government's terrorist watchlist over concerns about due process and the list's reliability, and to provide greater transparency to the public. 

The letter, sent by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a dozen other lawmakers who serve on relevant committees, follows CBS News reporting and a CBS Reports documentary about the huge increase in the number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist, including many Americans who say they shouldn't be there but can't get themselves removed. This year marks 20 years since the creation of the watchlist, but the same pervasive due process and civil rights critiques that were raised in the first years of the watchlist persist.

On Tuesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee published a report that called for a review of the watchlist enterprise, stating that oversight was "disjointed," redress options are "insufficient" and screening is uncoordinated, jeopardizing its functionality to safeguard against terrorist attacks.

"We write to request information about the status of and standards for the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS, or 'terrorist watchlist'), the redress process for seeking removal from the dataset, and any steps your agencies are taking to address anti-Muslim discrimination stemming from the watchlist system," the Democrats wrote. "We have ongoing concerns about the reliability of the list and the extent to which due process and civil rights principles are adhered to in the course of placing and retaining individuals on the list." 

Senators Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Ron Wyden, Peter Welch and Andre Carson, and Reps. Katie Porter, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rashida Tlaib, Judy Chu, Barbara Lee, Ilan Omar and Madeleine Dean joined Warren in signing the letter addressed to Attorney General Merck Garland and other agency heads. 

Previous internal investigations into the watchlist have found rampant inconsistencies and errors, and the Democrats point out the list has "triggered a range of constitutional concerns." 

"Meanwhile, once a name is added to the list, it is unlikely to be removed," the lawmakers wrote. 

Federal security officials have acknowledged flaws, but insist the system keeps Americans safe. 

"The fact that we haven't had a major attack within the United States on the scale of 9/11 is not an accident — it is a function of keeping bad guys out, taking action overseas, working with our partners," said Russ Travers, former U.S. Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told CBS News for the documentary. 

The process for removing oneself from the list is a complicated one. Someone trying to challenge their placement on the list can't simply submit an inquiry to the FBI's Threat Screening Center, the letter explains. Instead, they have to submit a complaint about a travel experience to the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI's Threat Screening Center has "final authority" over removing someone from the watchlist. The Transportation Security Administration's administrator is the one who makes the final call on whether to remove or keep someone on the No Fly List. 

An estimated 2 million people are on the list, most of whom are not Americans. 

Watch the CBS Reports documentary "The Watchlist: 20 Years of Tracking Suspected Terrorists" in the video below:

Kathryn Watson

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.