Racial Profiling Issues in the US - Essay Example

Law enforcement and security agencies in the USA use an individual’s race as a key factor when deciding whether to arrest the person or stop them for questioning. At the US-Mexico border, Latinos are mostly stopped by the border patrol on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. This racial discrimination has affected US-born Mexicans due to their race. Racial profiling is discrimination that undermines the human rights and freedoms every human being is entitled to. Mexicans do not cross the border freely due to questioning by police and cross-examination against the immigration and customs database (MacKinnon, 2011). Using racial profiling as a law enforcement tactic can be considered as unjust discrimination since it applies to specific people. This restricts the privacy and freedom of movement of individuals from this particular race. The USA receives thousands of immigrants from other countries and regions, but Latinos and blacks are the majority of deportees.

After the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, Muslim communities in the USA have been targeted by security agencies in the USA. The equality principle provides the moral and legal assertion that all citizens are equal and require equal treatment from the law. All people are therefore supposed to enjoy equal rights, opportunities, and welfare regardless of race or social status. Muslims in the USA are arbitrarily arrested or stopped by police officers on suspicion of engagement in terror activities. In airports, they are subjected to thorough security checks, which are not conducted on ordinary Americans. The FBI has shortlisted several Muslims, and they are under constant surveillance (Jamal and Naber, 2008). This causes discrimination against Muslims by citizens and law enforcement officers. However, racial profiling of Muslims has helped the FBI and the police identify several potential terrorists within the country. This has helped prevent other attacks and paralyze the operation of terrorist cells in the USA.