A/65/222 officials or, in some instances, from institutionalized racist and xenophobic practices, which are contrary to international law and human rights norms. 32. The Special Rapporteur wishes to stress that profiling of immigrant communities and their purported association with criminal activities clearly contrast with principles of human dignity and the prohibition of discrimination. 11 Profiling also disproportionately affects migrant communities, making them a target of mass identity checks, raids on homes, businesses and religious sites in the absence of specific evidence. Information received by the Special Rapporteur indicates that in some instances law enforcement officials have been tasked with rounding up and deporting foreigners in order to meet nationally set targets. The Special Rapporteur has also been informed that these practices sometimes target individuals from specific nationalities because repatriation costs are lower to certain countries. 33. From a due-process-of-law perspective, migrant profiling is highly detrimental as the very use of profiling defeats the presumption of innocence. The use of ethnic profiling, wittingly or not, contributes to a growing sense of marginalization of minority and immigrant communities, labelling entire racial, ethnic or religious groups as more likely to commit crimes and thereby signalling to the broader society that all members of that group constitute a threat. This is conducive to the creation of an environment of mistrust, ethnic or racial hatred, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which, in some instances, contributes to the alienation or segregation of entire migrant communities. 34. The Special Rapporteur is informed about the several obstacles to determine in practice if a police action is conducted for immigration or law enforcement purposes when profiling is used, and regrets that States are not sufficiently measuring the impact of their adopted policies. Information gathered by the Special Rapporteur indicates that profiling is widespread and, in some instances, institutionalized and that Governments are not collecting appropriate data in this connection. He also observes with dismay that in some instances law enforcement authorities disclose statistical information on crime that fails to distinguish between immigration offences and other offences. In addition, statistics on stops and searches fail to distinguish between immigration control and crime. This lack of distinction misleads the general public and nurtures a distorted image of widespread criminality among foreigners and migrant communities. He also regrets that gender considerations sometimes exacerbate the use of profiling, for example when anti-trafficking initiatives aimed to prevent the movement of women or immigration restrictions target men from specific nationalities. Other issues of deep concern include the retention of information, such as biometric data, with no regard for the right to privacy. B. The impact of the criminalization of migration on specific groups 35. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern that the criminalization of irregular migration has particularly negative implications for the protection of human rights of specific groups. He further notices that the reasons that may prompt persons to __________________ 11 10 See A/HRC/4/26, paras. 36 and 40-42. See also Alex Conte, Human Rights in the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism: Commonwealth Approaches: The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Berlin and New York, Springer, 2010. 10-47488