There are several definitions of racial or religious profiling. One is a police action that is initiated against a person because of that person’s appearance rather than what that person is doing. Police defend the use of racial profiling as a necessary and legitimate law enforcement tool which has deterred and reduced crime. Civil rights advocates claim racial profiling is unconstitutional, racist and used to harass law-abiding Americans. They say minorities are often viewed suspiciously for no apparent reason other than their race. They claim racial profiling is based on stereotypes and rarely leads to serious criminal convictions. They also say that police actions directed against innocent people often alienate entire communities and are thus counterproductive to effective law enforcement. Besides African Americans and others, many Muslim Americans have also complained that they have experienced unjust racial profiling and discrimination. The Supreme Court has ruled that police do not have to wait until a crime has been committed but can make stops based on suspicion that a crime is about to occur. Another federal judge declared stop-and-frisk searches unconstitutional but did not halt this discriminatory practice.

Pending Legislation: S.597 – End Racial and Religious Profiling Act of 2021 (ERRPA)
Sponsor: Sen. Benjamin Cardin (MD)
Status: Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Chair: Sen. Dick Durban (IL)