The Justice Department may soon investigate whether New York City’s controversial stop-and-frisk program unfairly targets racial minorities.

Opponents, who say the program is illegal because it has led to countless race-based searches, met with the department Thursday to call for its involvement, according to USA Today.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg defends the program as an effective crackdown on crime, saying the effort has resulted in 6,000 guns being taken off the streets over the past decade.

But a study by the New York Civil Liberties Union found that nearly 90% of those stopped under the program were black or Hispanic, reported the USA Today.

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