WASHINGTON, Dec 22: US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta has said that incidents of profiling people of Arab and Muslim descent at US airports have greatly decreased thanks to a recently passed law and clear instructions to screening companies.

In a speech at the National Press Club here, the US official conceded that there were incidents that still may pop up, “but I think, by and large, they have been minimised.”

He said that a new law passed by Congress, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, clearly puts in the hands of the department the responsibility for the screening of bags and passengers.

“As we have to deal with the safety and security of the flying public, there is going to be across-the-board screening of passengers and bags. That is the law. But that process is not going to be based on race, colour, creed, how you’re dressed, what you look like or any of the other subjective factors,” he stressed.

Also present at the event was James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who praised the secretary and his department for their efforts to minimize incidents of racial profiling.

Zogby said: “If this had happened in another country, it could have been a nightmare for our community or for any community. But because America operates in a very different way, I think we received a degree of support.

“And given the incredibly difficult job that transportation has to do, to provide security at a time of fear, and given the fact that there was the reality of a backlash and a fear of people of Arab descent, the effort that was made to minimize that and, for all intents and purposes, largely eliminate it, has been extraordinary.”—APP