The Obama administration announced on Dec. 8 new federal guidelines expanding protections for racial and ethnic profiling to encompass religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender and gender identity.
The new rules replace those issued by former President George W. Bush in 2003, which only protected profiling based on race and ethnicity, and provided exemptions for national security investigations.
“With this new guidance, we take a major and important step forward to ensure effective policing by federal law enforcement officials and state and local law enforcement participating in federal task forces throughout the nation,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.
Similarly to the ban that went into effect during Bush’s presidency, the new policy contains exceptions. While guidelines apply to federal agencies in the Justice Department such as the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security agents at border checkpoints and airport security screenings are exempt.
According to the department, the “unique nature of border and transportation security as compared to traditional law enforcement” rationalizes the exceptions.
Guidelines apply to state and local law enforcement officers only when they are involved in federal enforcement task forces.
Although officers are prohibited from stopping speeding drivers based on the new guidelines, the factors can be considered if they have been instructed to be on the lookout for suspects of a specific gender or race.
Civil rights activists received the broader protections positively, but are disappointed with the exemptions.
“This guidance is not an adequate response to the crisis or facial profiling in America,” Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, told Associated Press.
“It’s so loosely drafted that its exceptions risk swallowing any rule and permit some of the worst law enforcement policies and practices that have victimized and alienated American Muslim and other minority communities.”
At Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, the new rules were met with disappointment.
“We reject the idea that law enforcement cannot engage in effective border protection and safeguard national security without subjecting immigrants and communities of color to unjustified scrutiny which has not made us more safe,” Laboni Hoq, litigation director at the organization, in a statement.
Although the new rules were announced amid controversial incidents in Ferguson, Mo., New York City and Cleveland, the policy has been in the works since 2009.
“Particularly in light of recent incidents we’ve seen at the local level—and the widespread concerns about trust in the criminal justice process which so many have raised throughout the nation—it’s imperative that we take every possible action to institute strong and sound policing practices,” Holder said in reference to the August shooting in Ferguson, Mo. and the chokehold death that occurred in New York City.
(With reports from Al Jazeera and Associated Press)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(San Francisco December 12-18, 2014 Sec. A pg.1)
