Earlier this week, we sent out an action alert urging members to sign the petition to the Deparment of Justice urging them to adjust their guidelines regarding the use of race by law enforcement agencies. Ideally, these guidelines would detail to law enforcement how to enforce the law without using race as probable cause or reasonable suspicion. With all the loopholes and omissions in the guidelines, they do exactly the opposite.
The 2003 DOJ Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Law Enforcement Agencies:
- Allows for profiling based on religion and national origin;
- Includes loopholes that allow profiling at borders in the name of "national security;"
- Doesn't apply to all federal law enforcement activity;
- Isn't enforceable; and
- Doesn't consistently apply to state or local law enforcement agencies working in cooperation with federal agencies or receiving federal money.
Take a moment to sign the petition to the DOJ urging them to strengthen the guidelines. Our coalition partners in DC will deliver the petition to the DOJ at the end of the month.
This effort feels timely in light of my visit this week to Aroostook and Washington Counties to meet with the Maliseet, Mic Mac and Passamaquoddy tribal chiefs on this very issue. Racial profiling is pervasive in the native community. I heard many stories of humiliating and degrading situations some native people endure on a regular basis when interacting with law enforcement. I hope you'll take this small step towards eliminating racial profiling in our communities.