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Not only does TSA approve searches of the trunks and interior of unattended cars in an undefined perimeter that’s considered dangerously close to the airport—like a car left with valet parking—but if a valet attendant finds illegal drugs instead of bombs, they will call the police. Privacy experts say these searches could be a violation of a person’s Fourth Amendment rights.
“We search every car, we open the trunk and take a look around,” says Saour Merwan, a keymaster at the valet service at San Diego International Airport. “We were told by airport authority to do that, since about two years ago. [We] keep an eye out for something suspicious, like wires and cables. The airport has security regulations and we have to follow them.” Merwan says the service doesn’t inform anyone that they’re checking out the inside of the vehicles, and when asked what he’d do if he found illegal drugs, he says, “Of course we’d call the police.”
“This is exactly what the Fourth Amendment was designed to say the government can’t do, generally search everything without suspicion,” says Fred H. Cate, a professor at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. “At the same time, the Supreme Court has made an exception to searching items that you’ve voluntarily given to someone else—like a car. It’s a crazy argument, but that’s not bothered the courts before.”
Published on Dec 3, 2013
Description:
TSA Expands Searches of Parked Cars at Airports
TSA-approved warrantless searches of vehicles parked outside airports are being expanded, with a photograph taken at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport informing Thanksgiving travelers that all vehicles belonging to AmeriPark customers “will be searched by uniformed security.”
The policy, which first came to light earlier this summer after complaints from people who found notes inside their car which read, “your vehicle has been inspected under TSA regulations,” continues to cause confusion and stoke concern amongst privacy advocates.
When the story first broke, the TSA was keen to deflect responsibility by explaining that although, “the plan is approved by the TSA, it is up to each airport authority and its state and local law enforcement partners to follow the plan that has been implemented.”
Sources:
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-expands-s…