NEW YORK (AP) ? The American Civil Liberties Union in New York has accused the FBI of targeting innocent Americans for investigation based on widespread stereotyping in ethnic communities.
The ACLU on Thursday released documents it says show the FBI used false stereotypes as a basis to collect demographic data. The group says the information is used to map where people from those communities live.
It says the documents show the FBI crossed the line in its assessment of Arab Americans in Michigan, blacks in Georgia, Chinese and Russian-Americans in California and large groups of Hispanic communities in Michigan.
The ACLU says the FBI was abusing wider latitude it got to investigate terrorism threats after Sept. 11.
The FBI defends its practices and says it “joins the ACLU in opposing racial or ethnic discrimination.”