VIDEO: Senator Peters Underscores Need for Increased Transparency Around Terrorist Watchlist at Hearing with FBI Director

WASHINGTON, DC – During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) underscored the need to establish greater transparency around the terrorist watchlist and other datasets maintained by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center to ensure that the government is protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of Americans while prioritizing U.S. national security. As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters released a report last year that identified the lack of transparency around the terrorist watchlist, as well as redundant screenings and inspections at airports and ports of entry in part based on the terrorist watchlist.

“Last year, as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I released a report on the watchlisting and screening processes at airports, and the report raised concerns about the watchlist including who it is shared with, its implementation, its oversight, as well as the redress process,” said Senator Peters. “In particular, the report found insufficient transparency, lack of a holistic approach to screening, and no meaningful options to resolve concerns for Americans who believe they were misidentified or subject to discrimination.”

Peters continued, “Certain communities, such as Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Americans, report disparate screening during their travel and a breakdown in trust over the inability to redress the process. Certainly, I think you agree, the Administration, including the FBI, must effectively target our resources to protect our country from terrorism first and foremost, but we also need to respect the rights of innocent Americans as well.”

In his response, Director Wray agreed that it’s important that FBI procedures function to protect our national security but at the same time, respect Americans’ civil rights and civil liberties. 

During the hearing, Peters also asked Director Wray to share how the FBI is prioritizing its resources to deal with a growing number of terrorist threats to communities across the country, particularly amid a historic rise in antisemitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab American hate. Peters also highlighted the need to also secure U.S. elections amid a rise in threats to American election officials.

“We have seen historic spikes in antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab American hate incidents, certainly driven by the war between Israel and Hamas. We’re also seeing rising anti-immigrant rhetoric which in the past has inspired domestic terror attacks in Pittsburgh and El Paso, for example,” Peters said. “DOJ has also announced its investigating dozens of violent threats against election workers and has already convicted 13 individuals. And as you said earlier, you are increasingly concerned about the potential of a coordinated foreign terrorist attack here in the homeland.” 

In his response, FBI Director Wray said, “Terrorism, which includes both foreign terrorism and domestic terrorism, remains our number one priority. That has not changed… We, a couple of years ago, elevated civil rights, specifically including hate crimes, to what we call a national threat priority, and the effect of that is to drive prioritization in all the field offices.” 

To watch video of Senator Peters’ questions at the hearing, click HERE or on the image below.  

As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has consistently worked to strengthen U.S. national security while protecting Americans’ civil rights and civil liberties. The report released by Peters’ committee last year identified how screening practices at airports that build on and expand beyond the terror watchlist have ballooned over time. The report found that these practices, which repeatedly ensnare travelers who may pose no danger to national security, could be diverting critical counterterrorism resources away from identifying other serious security threats. The report also found that despite necessary and well-intended efforts to protect the United States from terrorist and other security threats, the federal government has created a layered and duplicative screening system that is so opaque and complicated, it is difficult for the government to explain, and for American citizens to understand, why they have been flagged for secondary screening or how they can seek real redress. 

Peters’ report also outlined reforms to strengthen our national security by improving and instilling confidence in government screening practices, and calling for greater transparency and an improved redress processes that would allow affected Americans to seek effective remedy if they feel they are mistakenly caught in this system.

Peters has also fought to help protect American communities amid the rise in domestic terrorism threats and hate crimes. Last Congress, Peters released an investigative report that found the federal government is not adequately addressing the threat of domestic terrorism, including white supremacist violence. The report offered several recommended actions on how our nation can better counter the threat of domestic extremism. Peters also previously convened a two-part hearing with experts representing faith-based, civil rights, and academic and policy research organizations on the impacts of domestic extremism, including white supremacist and anti-government violence, as well as a hearing on threats to houses of worship and a hearing on white supremacist extremism. Peters has also been a champion for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) which helps houses of worship, including synagogues, churches, mosques, gurdwaras, and other nonprofits, strengthen their security against potential threats. Peters announced last year that $7.5 million in grant funding from the NSGP will be awarded to nonprofits and faith-based organizations across Michigan to help them protect their facilities against potential attacks.

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