My View From Las Vegas
Monday, January 03, 2005
Identity and Travel Superintendent Of Schools.
Monday, January 03, 2005Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Garcia stuck on watch list
Schools chief raises red flag when he fliesBy LISA KIM BACH REVIEW-JOURNAL
The superintendent of the Clark County School District is not THAT Carlos Garcia.
It's a point local public schools leader Carlos Garcia has been trying to make to the Transportation Security Administration and Southwest Airlines for half a year now, with little success.
He's provided the government with notarized copies of his passport, his driver's license and his school district identification in an attempt to show he's an educator by profession, not an international terrorist.
But nothing has been able to stop the red flag from rising nearly every time he travels by air.
"I think it's important to have security, and I don't want to seem unpatriotic by questioning that," said Garcia, who oversees the nation's fifth-largest public schools system.
"But my biggest frustration is that there's got to be a way to get off the list, and no one seems to know what it is," Garcia said. "If that's the case and there isn't one, then this is a flawed system that needs to be corrected."
Garcia is not alone in being the victim of mistaken identification when trying to catch a flight. Numerous news reports have shown celebrities, members of Congress and just plain folks having their travels impeded because their names have been confused with someone on the watch list.
In March, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was stopped three times in airports in Boston and Washington, D.C., because he was misidentified. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, experienced similar problems.
"In one of my letters to the TSA, I pointed out that there are 13 Carlos Garcias in the phone book here," Garcia said. "There are probably hundreds in Los Angeles. Are they stopping all of us?"
Jennifer Peppin, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said problems related to the watch list can be addressed by e-mailing tsa.ombudsman@dhs. gov. She also said steps are being taken to prevent watch list confusion. A new computer passenger pre-screening system, Secure Flight, is being tested for airport use and should reduce the cases of mistaken identity.
"The problem is certainly out there, but people are getting a little more savvy in dealing with it," Peppin said.
Peppin said that as of January 2003, 250 people have submitted paperwork to the TSA asking for help in clarifying they're not a person named on the watch list.
But Garcia said he's worked the bureaucracy, written the letters and reported his problem with minimal results. All he's received so far is a TSA letter he's now supposed to carry with him when he travels by air.
He's still barred from obtaining his boarding passes electronically, he can't use the ticket kiosks at the airport and he's stuck waiting in line at the ticket counter while agents flip through their computer screens to make sure he's not the watch list Garcia.
The delays have almost caused him to miss flights and it's doubled the time he's stuck in airports. Garcia said he can understand being pulled aside once or twice, but he's been singled out every time he flies Southwest Airlines, which is a carrier used often by the district for travel to and from Washoe County for state government business.
As the start of the 2005 session approaches, Garcia said he is "having nightmares" about the frequent appearances he'll have to make before legislators and the potential airport delays that might leave him stranded or late for important engagements.
"Why can't they just look at my frequent flier number or view who's purchasing the ticket?" asked Garcia, who does the bulk of his traveling on district business. "My tickets are being purchased by the CCSD. To my knowledge, the CCSD isn't purchasing tickets for terrorists."
Garcia, who was just named the 2005 Nevada Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators, said he's now appealing for help to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate minority leader. He sent Reid a letter on Dec. 16 summing up his problem.
"If he can't help me, then I think we're living in scary times," Garcia said.
