DOJ to ban religious, racial profiling in national security probes

FILE: July 15, 2013: Police arrest an individual at a rally regarding Trayvon Martin, whose death sparked a national debate over racial profiling, Los Angeles, Calif. (REUTERS)

The Justice Department is set to announce broad restrictions on racial and religious profiling in federal investigations, including those involving matters of national security.

The expected ban comes amid heightened concerns of Islamic militant groups executing a terror attack on U.S. soil and was reportedly opposed by national security officials.

A Justice Department official told Fox News on Monday that outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder will announce the policy change in the coming weeks and that it will also put an end to profiling based on ethnicity and sexual orientation.

Holder intended to announce the policy change several months ago, but the White House ordered a last-minute hold so the Department of Homeland Security could review the national security implications, a congressional aide told The Los Angeles Times, which on Saturday first reported the story.

The new policy will add to long-standing bans on racial profiling and extend them for the first time to national-security probes.

The finishing touches are still being put on the policy change, but the final version is expected to scale back the authority federal agencies received in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, including the monitoring of some religious groups and surveillance on mosques without evidence of suspected criminal activity.

Still, some activities might be allowed to continue including the recruitment of informants from religious groups, The Times reports.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report