If the Bush Justice Department gets its way, the FBI may soon be going after American citizens on the basis of our race, religion, and ethnicity — even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing.

Federal law enforcement officials recently revealed proposed changes to the so-called attorney general guidelines that would allow authorities to initiate investigations of suspects by matching their personal traits to a terrorist profile. Those traits could include such things as access to military training and travel patterns, but also ethnic and religious background. Currently, an investigation can only be initiated when there are allegations or evidence of illegal activities or wrongdoing. If approved, the changes could go into effect before summer’s end.

After what we witnessed in the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks, when hundreds of blameless Muslims and Arab-Americans were monitored, detained and questioned, it’s not foolish to assume that members of those same groups would likely be unfairly targeted for investigation if the new policy changes are implemented.

The Justice Department plan recalls the chilling specter of COINTELPRO, the infamous FBI domestic spying program run by J. Edgar Hoover in the 1960s, which spied on, infiltrated and tried to discredit numerous activist groups, including the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement. All too often, people of color and left-leaning political activists are the ones who are viewed as suspicious and dangerous, and who become targets of government scrutiny — or worse.

Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union dubbed the new proposal the "COINTELPRO for the 21st century.” He told The Associated Press that “this is much more insidious because it could involve more people.”

Law enforcement agencies, like everyone else, must learn to adapt in the age of global terrorism and rapidly changing technology. But targeting individuals for investigation based on their race, religion, or other characteristics without evidence or allegations of wrongdoing is as wrongheaded now as it was 40 years ago.

Andrea Lewis is a host and producer with KPFA radio in Berkeley, Calif., and a member of the Stanford University John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship Class of 2008. She can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.