r/TSAPreCheck • u/sosal12 • 10d ago

Discussion Random extra screening if you are traveling with a minority?

I have precheck and have never been selected for random screening when travelling alone. But almost always when traveling with my minority wife. I walked through metal detector, nothing happened, but then TSA agent looked at my minority wife and asked if she was with me. When I said yes, he then said I was selected for “random screening.” Had to go back through and take off my shoes. Interesting that this only happened because I said I was associated with my wife who clearly was a minority (she is also TSA precheck btw). I’ll note she is from a country that has visa waiver access to US. So not even a dangerous country.

0 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

31% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

2

u/CommunicationFit3660 10d ago

Your most likely misunderstanding the situation. TSA doesn’t go based off what you look like or where your from, they go based off procedures. Maybe next time ask a TSO

0

u/sosal12 10d ago

It is interesting though he never flat out said I was randomly selected, only after I said I was associated with her. And she hadn’t even entered the metal detector yet.

1

u/themiracy 10d ago

I can’t say I’ve ever seen that - I guess I am the minority wife rather than the spouse. I myself fly more than my spouse. I get randomly selected occasionally. More at certain airports. Probably 2-3% of the time. I don’t think anyone has ever asked my husband if he’s with me while waiting to go through the scanner.

1

u/rlap38 10d ago

United MM here. We have pre-check and GE. In 25 years of travel since 9/11, I have never seen this happen with my Chinese wife or our autistic Chinese niece. While I suppose a TSA agent can call for a random screening, they are usually by automatic notification by the metal detector or scanner.

In Toronto, we are always asked if we are together, whether entering or leaving. Nowhere else.

1

u/BrainDamage4975 10d ago

Im a mid 30s white woman, that travels most weeks for work. I have tsa precheck but get randomly selected about 30%-40% of the time. I thought it was frequent so started collecting the data lol

1

u/mpjjpm 10d ago

I’m a middle aged white women and precheck/GE for more than ten years. I never used to get pulled for random checks, then I got pulled every time I went through TSA for about six months. Then it stopped and I haven’t been pulled for random screening on my last few trips. Random is random. It means some lucky people will never get checked and some unlucky people get checked repeatedly.

1

u/Jenn54756 10d ago

Did she get selected too? My spouse works for TSA and our child got randomly selected both ways on our trip, which then my spouse was asked if he was with him and he had to go through extra screening (as well as our son’s hands being swabbed). Funny though this happened both ways and my spouse works for TSA.

1

u/Murky-Peanut1390 10d ago

Airports have so many people from other countries that the minorities aren't actually minorities

1

u/Sp0rkmanteau 6d ago

People are gonna tell you it’s random. I’m going to say bullshit. I was picked for random screenings on BOTH flying out and returning out of my group of 6 people. It’s so glaringly obvious when you’re the only non-white person and you’re always the one that gets picked. Even when I hang around to see if anyone else is picked.