Religious profiling: An unwelcome guest

By Elizabeth Goitein and Faiza Patel
co-directors, Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty & National Security Program
04/17/12 12:19 PM ET

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s first hearing on racial profiling since 9/11 took place today, in the shadow of teenager Trayvon Martin’s killing and allegations that race played a role in his death and in its investigation. The struggle to eliminate racial bias, not only from policing but also from how Americans view and treat one another, is a longstanding and familiar one. But at today’s hearing, there will be a new and unwelcome guest at the table: religious profiling.

Racial profiling absorbed Americans’ attention in the late 1990s when empirical studies established what black and Hispanic Americans had long-known: cops often selected drivers or pedestrians to stop and question based on race or ethnicity. The studies also showed that this discrimination didn’t help the police. The odds of finding illegal substances were roughly the same for targeted minorities and for whites.

The data led to a widespread societal consensus against racial profiling, as well as state laws and police policies barring the practice. In 2003, the Department of Justice issued guidance prohibiting racial and ethnic profiling by federal law enforcement agencies, which it characterized as “invidious discrimination” undermining our commitment to liberty and justice for all.

However, the Justice Department’s guidance applies only to race and ethnicity, not religion. It excludes national and border security matters, and it doesn’t cover state or local law enforcement. In short, it doesn’t address the discrimination that has become a fact of life for many American Muslims.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/221967-religious-profiling-an-unwelcome-guest