Has Same Name As Suspected Terrorist

A frequent critic of the TSA's No-Fly list has found herself on that very same list -- and this person is a US Congresswoman: Loretta Sanchez.

The congresswoman, a democrat representing her district in Orange County, California, says she has fought for months to get many of her constituents off the list. There are over 24,000 Arab Americans living in her district, but Sanchez has a Latino heritage. She says, "When they want to, TSA can make sure that you don't have that identification problem. Sometimes it's taken us months to get these people off the lists so they can travel in a normal way."

When Sanchez attempted to get a ticket from an airport kiosk in Boise, Idaho, she was instructed to check in with a United Airlines employee. The ticket agent said her name was the same as a suspected terrorist.

"I handed over my congressional ID and he started laughing and he said,'I'm going to need an ID that has your birthday on it,'" Sanchez said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Finally, the congresswoman was able to board her flight after showing her drivers license, but the TSA won't say exactly why a Loretta Sanchez is on the No-Fly list, citing security reasons.

Congresswoman Sanchez is not the only member of the Legislative Branch of the US government to have troubles with the no-fly list.

In 2004, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy had trouble with airport security because he happened to share the same name with a suspected terrorist named "Edward Kennedy." 

FMI: www.tsa.gov