The following guest post was written for Daily Kos by Derwyn Bunton, chief legal officer of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The practice of racial profiling is rooted in the South.
For decades before the Civil Rights Movement ended Jim Crow laws, the mere gathering of Black folks outside of a church was illegal. Too many Black people hanging out in one space was viewed as dangerous and frightening—and still is to some.
The difference today is that racial profiling is illegal.
Using race as a proxy for probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop, search, seize, or arrest someone has been soundly discredited. Law enforcement agencies across the country have been rightfully banned from using racial profiling as part of the rules of engagement for policing their communities. Law enforcement cannot assume a Black person is a criminal, a Muslim person is a terrorist, or that a Latino person is an undocumented immigrant.
Yet in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the Supreme Court decided to ignore established law and allow, for now, federal immigration officials in Los Angeles to question and detain people based on their ethnicity, language, occupation, or presence at a particular location. It’s important to note this decision is temporary as the case moves through the courts, and the Supreme Court only greenlighted the tactics being used by agents in the Los Angeles area.
Still, alarm bells should be ringing!
Racial profiling is an authoritarian tool used to inflict fear on communities. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish and appears to work a low-wage job.”
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Whether most of the Supreme Court justices are too cowardly to stand up to a president showing a complete disregard for the law, or the court plans to rubber-stamp this administration’s authority to racially profile citizens, every American’s civil rights are on the line.
This is a president who answers problems with military force, deploying the National Guard on his own people. His response to real community needs is to assert military control over jurisdictions, intimidate communities, and force elected leaders to submit. Expecting this administration to stop at immigration policy and believing the Latino community will be the only targets of this abuse of power is to be intentionally blind to the reality we have been living in since his election.
If you believe people should be able to live free from harassment based on the color of their skin, the way that they walk, the sound of their voice, or the clothes they wear, then you have a stake in this case.
We may have limited options to appeal to a Supreme Court that repeatedly decides against holding the president accountable to the Constitution, but we can hold ourselves accountable to our fellow citizens.
We can find ways to show solidarity with the Latino community. We can peacefully protest, aid targeted community members and their families, or support local and national organizations fighting in the courts to protect the rights of immigrants and everyone else being swept up in these enforcement actions.
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It is dangerous when judges and lawmakers create justifications for racially profiling one group. This lays the groundwork to target other groups in the future.
Ignoring what is happening to the Latino community jeopardizes everyone’s safety.
Let’s keep racial profiling a relic of American history and move forward unified in the pursuit of a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy.
Together, we can resist injustice and build a better future.
Our communities are being ripped apart. Our friends and neighbors are being kidnapped and illegally detained. Can you donate $5 to support immigrant rights today?
