Bush said racial profiling, when police or other law enforcement officials target specific races or ethnicities when questioning possible suspects, "is wrong."

"We are in full agreement with President Bush on this one," said Rachel King, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. "It is time that Congress rectify this national disgrace and rid the nation of racial profiling."

A Senate panel held a hearing on August 2 to discuss the "End Racial Profiling Act of 2001," which the ACLU said is the most thorough way in ending racially and ethnically motivated law enforcement encounters.

The End Racial Profiling Bill of 2001 would define and prohibit racial profiling on local, state, and federal levels, and provide limited legal recourse for victims. Unlike previous legislation, the ACLU said the bill would be particularly effective by linking prohibition and data collection to receipt of federal funds and by providing incentive grants to finance anti-racial profiling tools and activities.

"The outcry against racial profiling is starting to swell and diversify," King said. "For the first time since this issue has entered the public spotlight, members of the law enforcement community are beginning to join the opposition side of the debate. Their message is clear: racial profiling is unjust, unnecessary, un-American and just plain bad policy."

"Racial profiling has been decried by the Administration, many in Congress and the general public as a particularly insidious form of police abuse," King said. "The average person must be able to trust the police to prosecute their jobs without regard for the color of his or her skin."