Attorney General Eric Holder
ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — New racial profiling guidelines being announced by the Obama administration would exempt agents from the Homeland Security Department who do border checks and screen passengers at airports.
But the guidelines would also restrict the ability of the FBI and other Justice Department law enforcement agencies to take into account ethnicity, national origin and other factors.
The guidelines, reported first by The Washington Post, are expected to be announced soon.
A U.S. official said Friday that the new guidelines exempt the Transportation Security Administration in entirety and also inspections at port of entry. The official was not authorized to discuss the guidelines by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The guidelines affect only federal law enforcement agents but have added symbolic resonance in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Missouri police shooting.