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Rep. Keating Calls For Hearings On Logan Screenings

U.S. Rep. William Keating has called for congressional hearings into allegations of racial profiling by Transportation Security Administration officers at Boston's Logan International Airport.

The Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement Monday that if a program to flag possible terrorists based on passengers' mannerisms is skewed by racial profiling, then it is illegal and undercuts its effectiveness.

"What has gone wrong in the program in terms of either the program itself or the implementation of that program?" Keating said to WBUR. "What's gone wrong to allow this to occur?"

The New York Times reported Sunday that in interviews and internal complaints it has obtained, more than 30 officers involved in the "behavior detection" program at Logan contend that the operation targets not only Middle Easterners, but also the certain behaviors of Hispanics and blacks.

The TSA said the program at Logan "in no way encourages or tolerates profiling," but is investigating and will take corrective measures if warranted.

With additional reporting by the WBUR Newsroom

This article was originally published on August 13, 2012.

This program aired on August 13, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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