With members of Congress pushing for a gun ban applying to everyone who ends up on the FBI’s Terrorist Watch List, it is instructive to emphasize just how difficult it is for anyone on such a list to clear their name. According to an article published in the Daily Beast, Malaysian architect Rahinah Ibrahim is “… the only person since the 9/11 attacks to file a court challenge that ultimately removed her name from the watch lists.”
While Ibrahim was able to clear her name, the process took her most of a decade, even with clear evidence that her name was added to the No Fly List by mistake. And her objective has not been met, as she is still unable to obtain a visa to visit the United States. That Ibrahim has the closest thing to a success story most people on a watch list find indicates just how unacceptable it is to deprive people of their constitutionally protected rights on such a basis.
