Sea-Tac screenings to scale back as homeland security ends surveillance program

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is terminating the Quiet Skies program, DHS announced via a news release.

Quiet Skies was a counterterrorism surveillance program through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), according to The New York Times.

However, DHS stated the program “has failed to stop a single terrorist attack” and cost taxpayers $200 million a year.

Quiet Skies program believed to facilitate political agenda

The department believes the program was put in place to target political opponents.

“It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said, via the release. “I am calling for a Congressional investigation to unearth further corruption at the expense of the American people and the undermining of U.S. national security.”

TSA will continue to vet security threats and reinforce REAL ID requirements, DHS noted.

“The Trump Administration will return TSA to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public,” Noem added. “This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans.”

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