By: Renee C. Lee, Associated Press Writer (AP) Panelists at a conference of Asian-American journalists said the government should not resort to racial profiling in its investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks.
As the government cracks down on terrorists, the civil rights of innocent people are being violated as well, said Frank Wu, a professor at the Howard University School of Law, at the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) convention.
"Even those of us who are supportive of the war against terrorists, we must recognize it would be wrong for us to confuse that war with a war that's based on assumptions of who's on our side or not on our side," he said.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, who heads the Justice Department's criminal division, said the government does not practice racial profiling. Chertoff said the government studies characteristics that could indicate someone is a terrorist, including travel habits, finances, and phone contacts.
Lucas Guttentag, director of the Immigrants Rights Project for the American Civil Liberties Union, accused the government of selectively enforcing laws, detaining people based on suspicion and keeping investigations secret. "The secrecy adds to the mistrust of what the government is doing," Guttentag said.
Panelists agreed that the war on terrorism has had the positive effect of forcing people to talk about racial profiling and to realize the diversity of the nation.
"'United we stand' is a wonderful slogan, but all of us need to stand up and speak out for civil rights and for people who don't look like us," Wu said. "It's up to us to make the government live up to the words."
AAJA is a nonprofit organization with about 1,700 members.
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