Racial Profiling

Below is an op-ed from today's San Francisco Chronicle



Racial or ethnic profiling is nothing new. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Arabs and Muslims in America are often the targets of ethnic profiling, despite the argument that racial and ethnic profiling runs contrary to American values. Counterterrorism strategists argue that targeting particular ethnicities or races during investigation is a more efficient way to catch perpetrators. They may also argue that while not all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists, all the terrorists who attacked us on Sept. 11 were Arabs or Muslims. Yet the greatest damage done by this practice is not violation of civil liberties but this: Profiling doesn't work.

A recent study on a secret Department of Homeland Security operation code-named "Frontline" and spearheaded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed damning evidence against the use of ethnic or racial profiling in counterterror operations.

Operation Frontline was designed to "detect, deter and disrupt terror operations" among immigrants during the months leading up to the presidential election. An analysis of data obtained from the Department of Homeland Security through a lawsuit showed that an astounding 79 percent of the targets investigated were immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

This policy was exposed by the numbers, despite numerous reassurances from DHS that racial, ethnic and religious criteria were not the basis of its investigations. The number of arrests made under national-security related charges? Zero. To put this in context, immigrants from Muslim countries were 1,280 times more likely to be targeted for investigations than immigrants from other countries. Despite that, not one national security-related charge was levied, even though the investigation targeted hundreds of immigrants who "fit a terrorist profile." One would think that such a massively inefficient policy would serve as a lesson for other law enforcement agencies. Yet the FBI is about to begin operating Dec. 1 under new attorney general guidelines that allow ethnic background, race and religion to be part of the criteria for launching investigations. This is a policy that flies in the face of everything we've come to know about the efficiency of racial profiling.

Racial and ethnic profiling is a genuine and important national security concern. Criticizing racial profiling can no longer be characterized by the right as the policy of dovish, immigrant-loving liberals. We know now that every dollar spent targeting innocent Arabs or Muslims could have been spent developing or following legitimate leads.

The Obama administration and the new Congress should make a legislative priority to ban racial profiling, without the loopholes that exist today, from all levels of law enforcement. The federal government should institute a system of data collection to ensure racial profiling is not being conducted illegally.

The End Racial Profiling Act would do just that, and is long overdue. As Operation Frontline and other operations have made clear, racial profiling is not aiding counterterrorism efforts but instead, unfortunately, impeding them.
Operation Frontline explained

To generate lists of individuals to target, ICE mined the databases of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), the Student and Exchange Information System (SEVIS), and the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program (US-VISIT).
It took place from May 2004 through February 2005. Of the approximately 2,400 investigations conducted, about 2,000 were of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
National security-related arrests resulting: 0. Source: FOIA request to Department of Homeland Security

Yousef Munayyer is a policy analyst for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to http://www.adc.org/.

Arab American Inaugural Celebration

Please join the Arab American Institute and Foundation for the Arab American Inaugural Celebration

Monday, January 19, 2009
7:00 to 11:00 pm

Fairmont Hotel Ballroom
2401 M Street, NW
Washington, DC

Featuring buffet reception, music, and guest performances by Dean Obeidallah and Aron Kader of Comedy Central’s Axis of Evil Comedy Tour

Tickets - $100

Thank You Congressman Emanuel

Emanuel Calls ADC to Repudiate Negative Comments About Arabs

Today, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, recently appointed White House Chief of Staff to President-Elect Barack Obama, called American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) President Mary Rose Oakar to repudiate negative comments about Arabs made by his father Benjamin Emanuel . In the phone call, Congressman Emanuel said, “From the fullness of my heart, I personally apologize on behalf of my family and me. These are not the values upon which I was raised or those of my family.”

During the phone call, Congressman Emanuel added, it is unacceptable to make remarks such as these against any ethnic or religious group. ADC President Mary Rose Oakar said, “We cannot allow Arabs and Muslims to be portrayed in these unacceptable terms. I welcome Rahm’s apology and his pledge to meet with our Community. I also thank our members and friends who responded who expressed concern about this matter. ”

Does It Ever End?

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee urges you to take immediate action by using the contact info below to express your disappointment to President-Elect Obama and Congressman Rahm Emmanuel for the detestable anti-Arab remarks Emmanuel's father made this past week.

ADC wrote a letter to Congressman Emmauel and President-Elect Barack Obama asking the congressman to publicly repudiate the derogatory comments his father made. Benjamin Emmanuel was quoted by numerous Israeli and American publications as saying "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

There should be no place for such demeaning rhetoric and these comments are contrary to the very type change the President-Elect promised he would bring to America.

Please contact President-Elect Obama by fax at 202.228.5417 or through this online contact form . Contact Congressman Emmanuel by fax at 202.225.5603 or via E-mail at emma.jurado@mail.house.gov

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Foolishness!

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YES WE DID!

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