EPIC Obtains Documents About TSA’s VIPR Program

Through a FOIA request, EPIC has obtained documents (pt. 1, 2, 3) about the TSA's "Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response" program. Created in 2004, the VIPR teams worked with law enforcement agencies to conduct warrantless searches at public events, including festivals, sporting events, and bus stations. The TSA released to EPIC planning guidance, an operations directive, operating procedures, and activity summary reports. However, the EPIC request revealed that the TSA failed to complete civil rights and civil liberties impact assessments required by law. The VIPR program ended in 2019. The VIPR program used "risk-based" profiling and "behavior detection" to search and detain individuals. Two GAO reports (2013, 2017)questioned the reliability of TSA's behavioral indicators, which included, for example, "assessing the way an individual swallows or the degree to which an individual's eyes are open."