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More on racial profiling

© Catten Ely

I told my brother about the piece I wrote on racial profiling and he mentioned that Portland recently made news with that very topic. Indeed, when Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department issued a list of 5,000 people - who are not suspected of any crimes - to be interviewed concerning the events on Sept. 11, Portland's acting police chief, Andrew Kirkland, refused to cooperate.

The list is made up of 18- to 33-year-old men who came to the US on temporary visas after January 1, 2000 from countries associated with the hijackers or al Qaeda. The Justice Department says that the men on the list are likely to be Muslim and Arab, but denies that it is based on ethnic origin. Because the list is so long, and the justice department wants to get all of the interviews done within 30 days, local police have been asked to help with the friendly, face-to-face interview process, which includes questions such as: What do you think of the Sept.11 attacks? What do you know about guns, bombs, and biological weapons? Do you know or suspect anyone of being involved in terrorism?

The interview also features less offensive questions, such as current and past addresses and why the interviewee is in the country. If the person is a student, a check will be run to confirm that he's actually enrolled.

The interviews are supposed to be completely voluntary and officials have been told not to make anyone go to a police station. No Miranda rights will be read, but interviewees may have a lawyer present, if they wish. The Justice Department says the interviews do not constitute racial profiling because they are being used to gather information, not to make arrests. An ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll found that almost 80 percent of respondents favor the questioning.

The State of Oregon, however, passed a law in 1987 prohibiting police officers from engaging in racial profiling. That law specifically states that a person who is not under suspicion for a crime can not be questioned about his political, religious, or social views. Basing interviews solely on citizenship is illegal. The law was designed to leave questioning of migrant workers to the immigration office, rather than local cops, because Oregon has many such persons working in the area.

San Francisco and San Jose police have also decided not to participate in the interviews.

Is it a witch hunt, or a mass canvas? Is the Justice Department guilty of racial profiling?

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