America’s transportation security administration (TSA) officials have informed Sikh groups that the community should now expect turbans to always be searched at US airports, prompting angry reaction from Sikhs.
The Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs, and Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund have decided to oppose it. While procedures which allow Sikhs to pat down their turbans and have their hands swabbed by a TSA screener remain in place, what changed is that turbaned Sikhs must go through an additional hand wand of the turban as an additional screening procedure 100% of the time.
This is even for Sikh travellers who choose to be screened by going through the new advanced imaging technology (AIT) machines.
The AIT machines (or whole body imaging machines) are being placed in airports nationwide over the coming years.
“The TSA seems fixated on turbans even though we learnt last Christmas that any piece of clothing can hide dangerous devices,” said Amardeep Singh, programme director, Sikh Coalition.
“Blindly singling out turbans when any other piece of clothing is as capable of hiding explosives is unsafe and un-American. While forcing turbaned Sikhs to go through an extra pat down may make people feel safer it doesn’t actually make anyone safer. This is security theatre at its worst.”
The TSA said that because a turban is “non form-fitting”, it is more capable of concealing dangerous items than other forms of clothing. It said that its new AIT machines cannot see through the folds of a turban to determine if it is concealing a dangerous item, the Sikh organisations said.
“National Sikh organisations oppose this policy and question its necessity. Targeting turbans for additional scrutiny sends a message to other passengers that Sikhs and their articles of faith are to be viewed with suspicion by fellow travellers. The policy is a serious infringement on the Sikh community’s civil rights and liberties,” it said.
