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Leslie Ram

Mrs. DiSomma

ERWC

20 October 2016

A Broken Country

Racial Profiling is one of the biggest controversies the United States has been forced

dealing with. Law officials, police officers more specifically, have been seen showing racism and

injustice towards many ethnic groups and minorities. These officials have no right to bully and

torment citizens, but they have been caught doing so. Racial Profiling is not necessary because it

violates freedoms and is discriminatory.

Police officials who are sworn to protect the citizens in their neighborhoods are using

their own power to go against the lives of these whom they are sworn to protect. The U.S. Patriot

Act, allows for racial profiling to occur (even if illegal) in incidents like being singled out

during searches at the airport or being suspected as a terrorist.(Pitt 59). There are racist officers

who will not stop at nothing, even if it means breaking the law, to question and profile against an

innocent individual. In many evident cases, ... the U.S. Patriot Act can be taken to the extreme

because according to section 412, if an agent is suspicious of an immigrant this act provides

them with the power to withhold particular rights from immigrants (Pitt 56). It is unethical to

take away a citizen's rights when no proof is evident. These officials show signs of racism when

performing these acts on innocent humans. As recorded a year ago, in San Francisco, although

Black people accounted for less than 15 percent of all stops in 2015, they
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accounted for over 42 percent of all non-consent searches following stops (Makarechi). Police

officers use their suspicion in a negative, unjust way, rather than being justified in their actions.

Cops continue to violate freedoms of United States citizens even though we are all equals and

have the same rights, freedoms, and justices.

Racial profiling discriminates against certain races and ethnic groups for something these

citizens have no control over. As police continuously discriminate, African-Americans are far

more likely than whites and other groups to be the victims of use of force by the police, even

when racial disparities in crime are taken into account(Makarechi). Solely based on the fact that

these suspects are black, police officers immediately change their mindset and become violent

towards victims, especially African-Americans who are constantly being discriminated against

for the color of their skin. Law enforcement workers are unjust in many situations,this includes

security guards at department stores, airport security agents, police officers, or, more recently,

airline pilots who have ordered passengers to disembark from flights, because the passengers'

ethnicity aroused the pilots' suspicions (Racial). These officials have no reason to suspect

anything from these individuals. There is no proof, authority or reason to disembark passengers

or customers because of the way they look. When investigated, a report on the unit by the state

attorney general found that blacks were stopped at a rate 10 times that of whites, and that 35

percent of those stops lacked reasonable suspicion to detain or had reports insufficiently filled

out to make a determination(Racial). Officials listen to stereotypes and use the knowledge of

others to prosecute minorities based on their appearance. This is highly offencive to all
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minorities across the country and is completely unfair. Discrimination has only defeated the

purpose of a free country.

Racial Profiling has done nothing but ruin our country. It has made freedom and equality

something of the past. Minorities and many different ethnic groups fear for their safety and have

no justice on a day to day basis. They are constantly getting discriminated against by the same

people who are supposed to stop this discrimination from occurring, law enforcement officials

and officers. Racial Profiling is never necessary and should never be used against anybody.
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Works Cited

Makarechi, Kia. "What the Data Really Says About Police and Racial Bias."The Hive.

14 July 2016. Web. Accessed 10 Oct. 2016.

Pitt, Cassidy. U.S. Patriot act and racial profiling: Are there consequences of Discrimination?

Bowling Green State University, web. Accessed 20 September 2016, pp. 56 - 59.

"Racial Profiling: Definition." American Civil Liberties Union. Web. 12 Oct. 2016. Accessed

Oct, 13 2016.