Trump administration shuts down ‘Quiet Skies’ passenger surveillance program
New York: The Trump administration has closed a controversial program that used undercover US air marshals on flights to surveil passengers, and removed a government official who took responsibility for putting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in it.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem called for an investigation into the program as she announced its closure on Thursday. DHS said the program cost taxpayers $200 million a year and “failed to stop a single terrorist attack.”
In a recent meeting, administration officials confronted leadership at the Transportation Security Administration over what they said was politically motivated use of the Quiet Skies program under the Biden administration, Xinhua news agency reported quoting The Wall Street Journal.
“The clash over Quiet Skies, a program that has long been a cause for concern for civil liberties advocates, is the latest example of the Trump administration accusing career officials of political weaponization,” it noted.
The program was launched in 2010, and its existence was first uncovered by the Boston Globe in 2018. Undercover US air marshals travel on flights with individuals included in the program.
Quiet Skies works to identify travelers who could present an elevated risk to aviation security. The program employs analysts and undercover air marshals to monitor people in airports and during flights, using outstanding warrants, facial recognition software, identification of suspicious travel patterns and behaviors and other data to try to prevent terrorist attacks.