[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 56 (Monday, April 30, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4046-S4047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Cleland, Mr. 
        Kerry, Mr. Reid, Mr. Feingold, and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 799. A bill to prohibit the use of racial and other discriminatory 
profiling in connection with searches and detentions of individuals by 
the United States Customs Service personnel, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the Reasonable 
Search Standards Act. This Act prohibits racial or other discriminatory 
profiling by Customs Service personnel. I am please that Senator 
Voinovich is an original cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation.
  Last year, I released a study, conducted by GAO at my request, of the 
U.S. Customs Service's procedures for conducting inspections of airport 
passengers. The need for this study grew out of an investigative report 
by Renee Ferguson of WMAQ-TV in Chicago and several complaints from 
African-American women in my home state of Illinois who were strip-
searched at O'Hare Airport for suspicion of carrying drugs. No drugs 
were found and the women felt that they had been singled out for these 
highly intrusive searches because of their race. These women, 
approximately 100 of them, have filed a class action law suit in 
Chicago.
  The purpose of the GAO study was to review Customs' policies and 
procedures for conducting personal searches of airport passengers and 
to determine the internal controls in place to ensure that airline 
passengers are not inappropriately targeted or subjected to personal 
searches. Approximately 140 million passengers entered the United 
States on international flights during fiscal years 1997 and 1998. 
Because there is no data available on the gender, race and citizenship 
of this traveling population, GAO was not able to determine whether 
specific groups of passengers are disproportionately selected to be 
searched. However, once passengers are selected for searches, GAO was 
able to evaluate the likelihood that people with various race and 
gender characteristics would be subjected to searches that are more 
personally intrusive, such as strip-searches and x-rays, rather than 
simply being frisked or patted down.
  The GAO study revealed some very troubling patterns in the searches 
conducted by U.S. Customs Service inspectors. GAO found disturbing 
disparities in the likelihood that passengers from certain population 
groups, having been selected for some form of search, would be 
subjected to the more intrusive searches, including strip-searches and 
x-ray searches. Moreover, that increased likelihood of being 
intrusively searched did not always correspond to an increased 
likelihood of actual carrying contraband.
  Because of the intrusive nature of strip-searches and x-ray searches, 
it is important that the Customs Service avoid any discriminatory bias 
in forcing passengers to undergo these searches. GAO found that 
African-American women were much more likely to be strip-searched than 
most other passengers. This disproportionate treatment was not 
justified by the rate at which these women were found to be carrying 
contraband.
  Certain other groups also experienced a greater likelihood of being 
strip-searched relative to their likelihood of being found carrying 
contraband. Specifically, African-American women were nearly 3 times as 
likely as African-American men to be strip-searched, even though they 
were only half as likely to be found carrying contraband. Hispanic-
American and Asian-American women were also nearly 3 times as likely as 
Hispanic-American and Asian-American men to be strip-searched, even 
though they were 20 percent less likely to be found carrying 
contraband. In addition, African-American women were 73 percent more 
likely than White-American women to be strip-searched in 1998 and 
nearly 3 times as likely to be strip-searched in

[[Page S4047]]

1997, despite only a 42 percent higher likelihood of being found 
carrying contraband. Moreover, among non-citizens, White men and women 
were more likely to be strip-searched than Black and Hispanic men and 
women, despite lower rates of being found carrying contraband.
  As with strip-searches, x-rays are personally intrusive and it is of 
particular concern that the Customs Service avoid any discriminatory 
bias in requiring x-ray searches of passengers suspected of carrying 
contraband. GAO found that African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans 
were much more likely to be x-rayed than other passengers. This 
disproportionate treatment was not justified by the rate at which these 
passengers were found to be carrying contraband. Specifically, GAO 
found that African-American women were nearly 9 times as likely as 
White-American women to be x-rayed even though they were half as likely 
to be carrying contraband. African-American men were nearly 9 times as 
likely as White-American men to be x-rayed, even though they were no 
more likely than White-American men to be carrying contraband. 
Moreover, Hispanic-American women and men were nearly 4 times as likely 
as White-American women and men to be x-rayed, even though they were 
only a little more than half as likely to be carrying contraband. And 
among non-citizens, Black women and men were more than 4 times as 
likely as White women and men to be x-rayed, even though Black women 
were only half as likely and Black men were no more likely to be found 
carrying contraband.
  For these reasons, we are reintroducing the Reasonable Search 
Standards Act. This bill is a direct response to the concerns raised by 
the GAO report. The bill prohibits Customs Service personnel from 
selecting passengers for searches based in whole or in part on the 
passenger's actual or perceived race, religion, gender, national 
origin, or sexual orientation. To ensure that a sound reason exists for 
selecting someone to be searched, the bill requires Customs Service 
personnel to document the reasons for searching a passenger before the 
passenger is searched. The only exception to this requirement is when 
the Customs official suspects that the passenger is carrying a weapon.
  The bill also requires all Customs Service personnel to undergo 
periodic training on the procedures for searching passengers, with a 
particular emphasis on the prohibition of profiling. The training shall 
include a review of the reasons given for searches, the results of the 
searches and the effectiveness of the criteria used by Customs to 
select passengers for searches. Finally, the bill calls for an annual 
study and report on detentions and searches of individuals by Customs 
Service personnel. The report shall include the number of searches 
conducted by Customs Service personnel, the race and gender of 
travelers subjected to the searches, the type of searches conducted--
including pat down searches and intrusive non-routine searches--and the 
results of these searches.
  Since the release of the GAO report, the Customs Service has assured 
me that improvements have been made to ``. . . better gather and 
analyze data, and to improve search procedures and results.'' These 
changes, along with better training of Customs Service personnel, will 
not only prevent unfair profiling practices, but will actually improve 
the effectiveness of operations at Customs. I commend former 
Commissioner Kelly for his quick response to the concerns raised by the 
GAO study and for implementing changes to the Customs Service's 
personal search policies.
  The legislation we are introducing today will ensure that such 
progress continues, and is reported to Congress on a periodic basis. 
The Reasonable Search Standards Act will make the task at Customs 
easier by ensuring that a key federal service--one where profiling 
practices have already been demonstrated--remains focused on improving 
its personal search procedures and eliminating any practices that bear 
even the slightest resemblance to racial profiling.
  President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft have both said that 
ending racial profiling will be a high priority for this 
Administration. We applaud their commitment to this important issue. We 
have written a letter to President Bush, co-signed by Representatives 
Lewis and Houghton, to commend the President's attention to racial 
profiling, and to urge him to support the Reasonable Search Standards 
Act. Similar letters have been sent to Attorney General Ashcroft and to 
Treasury Secretary O'Neill. This is not a black, or brown, or white 
issue. It is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. Racial profiling 
is an affront to all Americans. Allowing it to continue would diminish 
democracy for all Americans.
  Martin Luther King had a dream that the United States would become a 
nation where children would not be judged by the color of their skin 
but by the content of their character. We still have a long road to 
travel to make Dr. King's dream a full reality for all people. The 
Reasonable Search Standards Act is one step along that road. I urge my 
colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter sent to President Bush be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                Congress of the United States,

                                    Washington, DC, April 6, 2001.
     Hon. George W. Bush,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear President Bush: We are writing to commend you and 
     Attorney General Ashcroft for the priority your 
     administration has given to the issue of racial profiling, 
     and to seek your assistance regarding ongoing efforts to 
     address this issue in the U.S. Customs Service. The insidious 
     practice of racial profiling undermines public confidence in 
     law enforcement and damages the credibility of police forces 
     around the country, even though the vast majority of police 
     are carrying out their duties responsibly and professionally. 
     Most importantly, racial profiling creates an atmosphere of 
     distrust and alienation that isolates broad segments of the 
     American population.
       As you know, this issue affects federal, as well as state 
     and local law enforcement activities. In fact, a GAO study of 
     profiling practices of airline passengers concluded that the 
     U.S. Customs Service was intrusively searching African-
     American women and other minorities for contraband at much 
     higher rates than they searched other segments of the 
     population. Ironically, the women being targeted were 
     statistically less likely than other passengers to be found 
     carrying contraband.
       Commissioner Kelly quickly responded to the concerns raised 
     by the GAO study by implementing significant changes to the 
     Customs Service's personal search policies and data 
     collection activities. The Customs Service is to be commended 
     for its responsiveness that, we hope, will eventually 
     eliminate the practice or appearance of discrimination. Your 
     continued attention to this issue will insure that the rapid 
     pace of progress that the Customs Service has already made on 
     the issue of racial profiling will continue unabated. To that 
     end, we ask, first, that you quickly nominate someone who 
     shares your commitment to the issue of racial profiling to 
     the position of Commissioner of Customs.
       We also introduced Customs search legislation to 
     specifically address the issue by codifying some of the 
     changes already made by the Customs Service, and adding a 
     modest reporting requirement. The legislation would prohibit 
     the use of race, gender or other inappropriate criteria as 
     the basis for Customs Service selection of people for 
     searches or detention, and require Customs to improve its 
     record-keeping and analysis, institute periodic training, and 
     report annually to Congress. There is every indication that 
     these types of measures will help the Customs Service make 
     more effective use of its resources, and avoid unwarranted 
     searches.
       We are reintroducing these companion bills to address 
     profiling in the Customs Service and hope that you will work 
     with Congress to insure their passage as part of your effort 
     to bring an end to the inexcusable practice of racial 
     profiling.
           Sincerely,
     Richard J. Durbin,
       U.S. Senator.
     George V. Voinovich,
       U.S. Senator.
     John Lewis,
       Member of Congress.
     Amo Houghton,
       Member of Congress.

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