By Charles S. Clark

Jeff Roberson/AP

The inspector general for the Homeland Security Department has opened an investigation of alleged racial profiling of Somalis at the Transportation Security Administration.

The watchdog on Thursday announced that a TSA employee had complained via a hotline that “his supervisor advised him to treat members of the Somali community differently from others who visit the Minneapolis TSA office.”

A large population of immigrants from Somalia have settled in the Minneapolis area, and that weakly governed East African nation continues to be a battleground for terrorists.

TSA has long sought to avoid unconstitutional racial stereotyping while screening airline passengers using confidential criteria. Last year, a checklist detailing some of the criteria was leaked to a media outlet.

The IG plans an investigation and, if warranted, a public report.

Source: Government Executive