Originally Posted by ND Sol;
Under current TSA regulations and procedures, that election [to submit to the administrative search
occurs when a prospective passenger walks through the magnetometer or places items on the conveyor belt of the x-ray machine. The Government asserted during oral argument that regulations and procedures tying this election to an earlier point in time, i.e., entering the airport screening line or the presentation of a boarding pass and I.D. to a TSA officer, would pass constitutional muster. Changes in technology or gains in knowledge as to terrorist operations may prompt the TSA or its successors to claim the need for recognition of danger at an earlier point in the boarding process.
I hadn't focused on this before. If the TSA changes the point in time for consenting to an administrative search, that would be chilling.
I sent an email to the TSA asking when a person is consenting to an administrative search. The response:
Thank you for your email message.
Under Federal law,
when passengers place his/her baggage on the x-ray conveyor belt or walk through the screening equipment, consent to be searched is implied. This consent, once given, cannot be withdrawn until TSA security procedures are completed. Federal regulation prohibits interfering with, assaulting, threatening, or intimidating screening personnel as they perform their screening duties. Interfering with security screening personnel is also a crime under Federal law.
We hope this information is helpful.
I then asked:
If there is a passive MMW camera at the entrance of the airport screening people entering does that mean the "screening process" has been initiated simply by walking into the airport and past the camera?
The response:
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does not discuss specific security procedures. This information is considered Sensitive Security Information and as such, is unauthorized for public disclosure.
TSA Contact Center
I sent another email on 10/22 asking for clarification and got this response:
Thank you for your inquiry to the Transportation Security Administration. We have forwarded your email to the appropriate group for response.
I will let you know what the response is when i get it. Perhaps if more people send email we might get a quicker response.