New York, NY — ColorOfChange.org, the nation’s largest online civil rights organization, urges President Obama to take immediate action to close discriminatory profiling loopholes for Federal law enforcement, and urges Congress to pass the Eliminate Racial Profiling Act (ERPA).
“While the President has the authority to reduce profiling abuses by Federal law enforcement, Congress can go many steps further by passing the The Eliminate Racial Profiling Act (S. 1038 / H.R. 2851), said Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org. “This legislation provides an opportunity to fix a major broken piece of our criminal justice system and address a law enforcement culture that has forced millions of Black folks to live in fear and cast entire communities as suspect.”
Targeted profiling by law enforcement across the country, including by federal law enforcement is part of a deeply racist, brutal culture that is in desperate need of reform. These discriminatory practices cause tremendous harm to Black families and communities and can lead to unlawful arrests, deportations, incarceration and in some cases serious injury or death. Blacks folks are twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with police.
“By taking a stand against discriminatory profiling, President Obama and Congress can send a strong message that they intend to protect the civil rights and liberties of our nation’s increasingly diverse communities, rebuild community trust in law enforcement and ensure equal treatment under the law for all individuals regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Robinson.
Today leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus and Asian Pacific American Caucus joined other members of Congress and civil rights advocates to call on the Obama administration to issue improved profiling guidance for federal law enforcement that closes current loopholes.