FBI Terrorism Screening Center On Hiring Spree

The FBI is hiring nearly 120 new staffers at the Terrorism Screening Center (TSC) in order to enhance scrutiny, and perhaps data mining.The individuals identified by President Barack Obama’s administration as possible terrorists has reportedly surged over the past two years. The federal agency hiring spree involves employing full-time private contractors to “amass and screen data” on the activities and movements of those the government feels may pose a threat to the nation. The details gathered on citizens and foreign tourists and students will all be sent to the branch of the FBI that serves as an information clearinghouse.

The TSC’s website says its mission is to maintain “the U.S. government’s consolidated Terrorist Watchlist,” which it calls “a single database of identifying information about those known or reasonably suspected of being involved in terrorist activity.” The FBI has come under criticism from both sides of the spectrum as of late. It has changed its mission statement, now focusing more on national security than it does law enforcement. The ACLU released a report in the fall saying the bureau has been transformed into a domestic intelligence agency and is now a threat to American freedom, according to Off The Grid News. The transformation came after 9/11, the report maintains.

An excerpt from the ACLU report reads:

“Modern technological innovations have significantly increased the threat to America’s liberty by giving today’s FBI the capability to collect, store and analyze data about millions of innocent Americans. The excessive secrecy with which it cloaks these domestic intelligence gathering operations has crippled constitutional oversight mechanisms.”

As noted previously by political watchdogs, various branches of the federal government have deemed pro-life supporters, gun owners, returning veterans, conservatives, patriot groups, Tea Party activists and Libertarians as potential terrorists. Whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations regarding the National Security Agency (NSA) rocked the entire world and exposed the high-tech spying by the department. But all the digital snooping did nothing to protect Boston Marathon runners and attendees from the acts of the bombers, even after Russian intelligence agencies repeatedly warned the US about the potential danger the young men posed.

The Terrorist Screening Center “Statement of Work” reveals that the facility is staffed by “officials from multiple agencies, including the FBI, DHS, DOS, Transportation and Security Administration, and the United States Customs and Border Protection,” World Net Daily reported. The 116 new hires being recruited will reportedly fill positions in the operations-support division at the Vienna, Virginia, facility and an unidentified “alternate site.”

Part of the TSC evaluation process reportedly involves maintaining the terrorism watch list. An excerpt from the FBI’s website on “Safeguarding Civil Liberties” reads:

“Such reviews help ensure terrorist identity data is ‘thorough, accurate, and current,’ and meets the federal government’s strict criteria for watch listing. Complaints and misidentifications are addressed and any errors are corrected.”

The webpage goes on to state that both recent and projected escalations of “encounter activity” necessitates the need for the center’s services, according to WND. The TSC typically averages about 275 requests for review services each day. That statistic represents a 27 percent jump from 2012 and a 70 percent increase for reviews since 2011. The agency reportedly expects “encounter volume” to continue to increase at a “steady pace.”

The debate over national security vs. privacy rights of Americans citizens will not likely evaporate any time soon. The NSA domestic spying scandal rages on, with the country still divided on whether to deem Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor.

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