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Washington, DC – The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)) condemned House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King’s ethnic profiling proposal at airport check points. Rep. King recently stated that people of "Middle Eastern and South Asian" descent [should] undergo additional security checks because of their ethnicity and religion.
“Profiling on the basis of ethnicity has proven not only discriminatory and unconstitutional but has not served the national security needs of the United States. As a Japanese-American internee in World War II, I witnessed the irreparable harm that such policies can do to our country,” said Rep. Michael Honda (CA-15), Chair of CAPAC. “America is the beacon of democracy to the rest of the world, and our enemies rejoice when we sink to their level. Rather than persecuting Americans of Muslim and South Asian descent, we should strengthen our relationship with these communities to more effectively work together towards our shared goal of protecting our nation.”
“Racial profiling has plagued many of our nation's law enforcement authorities,” said Rep. David Wu (OR - 1), Executive Board Member of CAPAC. “Not only is this inappropriate practice a violation of civil rights, it takes away valuable and limited resources from protecting Americans from real threats to our safety."
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