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Texas takes on the TSA: The Constitutional Fight over Airport Security

  • Cali M. Ellis EMAIL logo und Michael C. McDaniel
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 19. April 2013
Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Aus der Zeitschrift Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Band 10 Heft 1

Abstract

Since 9/11, air transportation has been one of the most important and closely watched areas of homeland security under federal control. Despite this centralization of authority, some states have begun to question some of the policies enacted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In 2011, Texas passed legislation that would have criminalized TSA officers for carrying out such policies, specifically enhanced pat downs of airport travelers. In light of threats from the Department of Justice, Texas ultimately backed down from the legislation, but the legal arguments made by participants on both sides remain relevant to future conflicts between state and federal authority on homeland security. The events in Texas are particularly interesting because they make public the tension between citizen preferences for security and civil liberties, highlighting the role of federalism in the homeland security domain. Using legal analysis, we find that federal power in the realm of aviation security given by the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause is less clear-cut than generally argued. Therefore, Texas’ attempt to assert its authority in this domain was not necessarily legally unsound.

Keywords: civil liberties; tenth amendment; transportation security administration; United States
Corresponding author: Cali M. Ellis, University of Michigan, 5700 Haven Hall, 505 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045, USA, Tel.: +310-683-2149, Fax: +810-752-1847, e-mail:
  1. 1

    Granted, it’s a blog, which sacrifices the depth of the discourse for a quick response, but the TSA’s response is not as nuanced as this issue deserves: “What’s our take on the Texas House of Representatives voting to ban the current TSA pat-down? Well, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2) prevents states from regulating the federal government” (Transportation Security Administration 2011).

  2. 2

    Of course, the presence of multiple airport security laws tailored to the preferences of each state undermines the unifying purpose for which the TSA was created. The presence of a weak link could be exploited by terrorists, thus changing the public’s perception of the costs and benefits of intrusive airline security procedures.

  3. 3

    As the dissent notes, however, the commentators have suggested as early as 1954 that nationally elected officials can act as guarantors of constitutional federalism, but the dissent further suggests that then extant reasons for “national action” are no longer valid. On prominent commentator referred to the decision as the “second death of federalism” (Van Alstyne 1985).

  4. 4

    First decided in 215 F.3d 986 (9th Cir. 2000) was reversed, 253 F.3d 359 (9th Cir.) and the opinion vacated, 266 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2001).

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Published Online: 2013-04-19
Published in Print: 2013-01-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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  27. Book Review
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https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2012-0068
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
civil liberties; tenth amendment; transportation security administration; United States

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Research Articles
  4. Integrating Federal Approaches to Post-Cyber Incident Mitigation
  5. Cybersecurity and US Legislative Efforts to address Cybercrime
  6. The Military’s Response to Domestic CBRNE Incidents
  7. Building Public Health Preparedness and Food and Agriculture Defense Capabilities Using Whole Community and One Health Concepts
  8. Situated Response and Learning of Distributed Bushfire Coordinating Teams
  9. A Critical Examination of the Assumptions Regarding Centralized Coordination in Large-Scale Emergency Situations
  10. “Of Gods and Men”: Selected Print Media Coverage of Natural Disasters and Industrial Failures in Three Westminster Countries
  11. Spontaneous Planning after the San Bruno Gas Pipeline Explosion: A Case Study of Anticipation and Improvisation during Response and Recovery Operations
  12. Understanding Incident Response to Unplanned Releases at Chemical Facilities
  13. A Study on the Responsiveness of Local Health Departments that Use Facebook
  14. Texas takes on the TSA: The Constitutional Fight over Airport Security
  15. The Gulf Oil Spill and Economic Impacts: Extending the National Interstate Economic Model (NIEMO) to Account for Induced Impacts
  16. The Economic Value of Water: Providing Confidence and Context to FEMA’s Methodology
  17. Diffusion of Emergency Information during a Crisis within a University
  18. Resilience Building Policies and their Influence in Crisis Prevention, Absorption and Recovery
  19. Communication and News
  20. A Practitioner-Researcher Partnership to Develop and Deliver Operational Value of Threat, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Training to meet the Requirements of Emergency Responders
  21. Regional Public-Private Interoperable Communications for Catastrophic Events Using a Cloud Computing Based Portal
  22. It’s Never Too Late: Restructuring the Department of Homeland Security’s Regional Framework
  23. Finding the New High Ground in Cyber War: Malware as an Instrument of War
  24. Opinions
  25. Cybersecurity and Emergency Management: Encryption and the Inability to Communicate
  26. Assessing the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards after 5 Years: Achievements, Challenges, and Risks Ahead
  27. Book Review
  28. Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900–2010 (2nd Edition)
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