Wikipedia:

Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement (e.g. make a traffic stop or arrest). The practice is controversial and widely considered inappropriate and illegal.

Having been a public defender, I have no doubt that it occurs, but I think it's more complicated than just pulling over every black or Hispanic you see. As you look for statistics, you find a lot of biased reporting, with little credit given to the cops' side of the issue. The real question is not simply whether a detained person is a minority, but whether that was primarily or substantially a motive for the detention (that term includes any traffic stop.) That kind of determination requires a detailed examination that isn't easy to conduct merely from the statistics of stops and the races of the persons pulled over.

Racial profiling often relies on pretextual stops for minor offenses that the cops would usually ignore unless they're looking for an excuse to stop someone. That might be apparent in statistical databases, but it could also also be a valid suspicion of illegal activity based on behavior that isn't in and of itself illegal but can be articulated by the police. In one case a woman circled the block six times while police were conducting a drug bust. It involves what most people would agree is suspicious, "he's up to something." That in itself isn't illegal, but cops do have a right to stop and frisk in some cases of such behavior.

All in all it's a difficult question that courts struggle with every day and isn't easy to determine without considering the facts of the case, and it's always the first excuse given by people of color. I don't know the answer to the problem, but the first step ought to be for an impartial group or someone capable of making an objective study to examine a statistically valid number of cases and report on how many of them are credible as racial profiling. The easiest ones to identify would be stops where no crime was found. Such stops aren't always recorded, but I know they occur. People have had their vehicles searched and been detained for hours, and then dismissed with "have a nice day," having to put everything back by themselves. I'd like to know how often that happens. The police have to check in with their dispatchers every time they stop for any reason, and the codes they use indicate traffic stops. On the other hand, law abiding citizens have an interest in stopping crimes such as drug trafficking, gang activity, illegal immigration and smuggling of people or contraband into the country. I can almost guarantee that most white people in the U.S. have acquaintances or friends who are Latino or Hispanic who they respect and see as valuable neighbors. What offends is trying to deal with clerks at fast food restaurants who can't understand enough English to take an order, or listening to people talk in Spanish when they don't know whether they're the subject of the discussion or not. They don't like being laid off and replaced by undocumented workers.

It isn't that hard a problem to address, but it's being rubbed raw by agitators and activists. I have a strong suspicion that there are a lot of illegal votes being cast by non-citizens, and that such tactics are part of party politics in some areas, maybe even nationwide. No citizen should be blocked from registering and voting, but at the same time, I think that many rules like allowing people to register to vote at the Motor Vehicle office or by non-government agencies like ACORN, are practically an invitation to commit fraud.

Today, it was reported that government investigators had applied for U.S. Passports using false information and obtained them in 3 of 7 cases. We need better IDs if even Passports are so easy to falsify. Social Security Cards shouldn't be acceptable anywhere, because they're just printed on plain paper (At least mine is. I don't know what form they're in now.) We don't have a privacy crisis. We have a ID crisis, and the forces in this country, including the federal government in many cases, are making it worse by turning a blind eye to the porous borders.