Federal Government Forbids Racial or Ethnic Profiling

June 18, 2003

Source: Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6113850.htm

On June 18, 2003 the Mercury News reported that "the Justice Department on Tuesday took a historic step toward fulfilling President Bush's vow to end racial profiling in the United States, forbidding federal law enforcement officers in most cases from using race or ethnicity to target criminal behavior... Civil libertarians say the new policy, effective immediately, goes further than many anti-profiling measures already in place at many federal, state and local agencies, including San Jose. But they say a counterterrorism exemption is ripe for abuse and will give officers an excuse to unfairly focus on Muslims and Middle Easterners... Federal law enforcement officials have interviewed thousands of Muslim men since the attacks and have detained hundreds. The government also has required more than 82,000 men from 25 mostly Muslim countries to register at immigration offices, resulting in about 13,000 potential deportations."