Racial Profiling in the U.S.A.

Rationale

Racial profiling is a government activity directed at people based solely on race and has been a concern of numerous civil rights organizations and The United Methodist Church for several decades. The insidious practice of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies around the country is once again on the rise. WHEREAS the most current study by Amnesty International USA (2007), Threat and Humiliation: Racial Profiling, National Security, and Human Rights in the United States, states that ―racial profiling is so pervasive that it has impacted nearly 32 million people in the U.S. – approximately the population of Canada; and WHEREAS racial profiling is a violation of the respect for human rights, an abhorrent manifestation of racism, and violation of the moral standard of the United States and the United Methodist Church; and WHEREAS Arizona Senate Bill 1070 was signed into law and other copycat legislation is pending. If federal court challenges fail, it would give local law enforcement the right to arrest anyone they suspect is in the country illegally. This violates the equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. Racial profiling threatens the safety of both its citizens and immigrants; and

Action

THEREFORE we call on our Council of Bishops to denounce through an official communication to the President of the United States of America, members of the United States Congress, the United States Attorney General and our local churches that racial profiling as an unacceptable, unjust and an evil reality contrary to United Methodist principles and needs to be eliminated from law enforcement practices; and

We call on The United Methodist Church, its members, boards and agencies and Council of Bishops to support legislation enacting comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for persons living in the United States without documentation, protecting the most vulnerable in our society; and

We specifically call on the Council of Bishops, our annual conferences and members of local churches to contact their members of Congress urging that they would prioritize and enact End Racial Profiling legislation allocating sufficient funds for its vigorous enforcement so as to:

Ensure a federal prohibition against racial profiling,

Ensure retraining of law enforcement officials on how to discontinue and prevent the use of racial profiling, and 

Ensure law enforcement agencies are held accountable for their continued use of racial profiling.

THEREFORE finally, we call on The United Methodist Church through its annual conferences, districts and local churches and under the leadership of the General Board of Church and Society and the General Commission on Religion and Race, in coordination with the General Board of Global Ministries and the Women’s Division, to be proactive in educating the constituency about racial profiling and establish networks of cooperation with criminal justice and law enforcement agencies.

Comments

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