Racial profiling cases

This article was first published by Just Security. 

Earlier this year, on the third anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, the Justice Department (DOJ) updated its guidance on the use by federal law enforcement agencies of race, religion, and other protected characteristics.

The guidance covers only DOJ, although other agencies are encouraged to adopt it as well. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already done so and charged its civil rights office to lead an effort to update the department’s own flawed rules, including those for operations the DOJ guidance does not cover, such as its border interdiction activities and screening programs for travelers and immigrants.

The new rules replace the DOJ’s prior guidance from nearly a decade ago, and include some welcome improvements – they now protect people with disabilities and explicitly cover more officials, including those supporting law enforcement and intelligence activities.

Unfortunately, the revised rules continue to afford law enforcement broad latit

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