Mikey Hicks has the same name as someone on the “selectee” list, a group of 13,500 names that trigger additional security measures at our nation’s airports. The TSA says it’s a “myth” that an 8-year-old is on a list and being frisked. His mother doesn’t agree.

From the NYT:

“Up your arms, down your arms, up your crotch — someone is patting your 8-year-old down like he’s a criminal,” Mrs. Hicks recounted. “A terrorist can blow his underwear up and they don’t catch him. But my 8-year-old can’t walk through security without being frisked.”

Having the same name as a suspicious person is a problem for lots of travelers, according to the Times.

Over the past three years, 81,793 frustrated travelers have formally asked that they be struck from the watch list through the Department of Homeland Security; more than 25,000 of their cases are still pending.

They even had an example of one guy who went so far as to change his name to get it to stop. It worked.

Meet Mikey, 8: U.S. Has Him on Watch List [NYT]

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