New Report Documents Damaging Effects of Racial Profiling

Rights Working Group (RWG) has released a new report that documents the pervasive use of racial profiling in America and calls on all levels of government to ban “all forms of racial and religious profiling by law enforcement.”

RWG and its local and national partners held six hearings around the country to collect the stories of individuals who have experienced racial, ethnic and religious profiling. The report – which analyzes racial profiling laws — also discusses profiling in the context of immigration enforcement and post-9/11 national security responses.

In this video, Americans describe what it feels like to be profiled by law enforcement and advocates discuss why profiling is wrong and ineffective:

RWG launched its “Face the Truth” campaign last year to eradicate racial and religious profiling.  Its goals include: urging the Department of Justice to revise guidelines regarding profiling loopholes in national security and enforcement, ending immigration enforcement programs that often profile based on race, and pushing Congress to pass the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA), which was introduced in the House of Representatives in July.