Issue: Racial and Identity Profiling
In most ways,
the borderlands are similar to the rest of the country: We are made up of
diverse, tight-knit communities from different racial and ethnic backgrounds,
with people who are proud of where they live. But when it comes to racial and
identity profiling, we couldn’t be more different.
The border is
the only place where a federal officer can stop and frisk you based on the
color of your skin, your perceived accent, your apparent religion, and even the
way you dress.
This is wrong
and at odds with core American values such as equality under the law, fairness
and justice.
While the
Obama Administration has banned racial and identity profiling in police
departments across the nation, it has allowed Customs and Border Protection to
continue to harass border residents at will --and with little or no
transparency and accountability.
CBP is the
largest law enforcement agency in the country and must be held to the same
standard as local police forces. In fact, it should be acting as the gold
standard for law enforcement.
We urge the Obama Administration to close this loophole and end racial
and identity profiling along our nation's borders. In the United States of
America, all residents should be able to move freely in the place they love to
call home.
Conclusions:
1.
When it comes to nationwide policing practices around
racial and identity profiling, border communities should be treated the same as
the rest of the country. Anything less would be at odds with American values of
equality under the law, fairness and justice.
2.
Border states like California and New Mexico have
banned racial and identity profiling because it's wrong and undermines safety
for everybody. The Obama administration should follow their lead by closing the
loophole that allows CBP to stop and frisk people with impunity and a lack of transparency
and accountability.
3.
Research shows that racial profiling is ineffective
because it wastes limited resources on innocent people while allowing those
truly looking to harm us to slip by.
