Legal Racial Profiling
Racial profiling is once again in the headlines.
Not like it’s really ever gone away, but Arizona’s new legislation certainly catapults it back into the limelight. In the broadest and strictest illegal immigration law this nation has ever seen, the police will basically have the power to legally stop and detain anyone they feel may be in the state illegally. And immigrants who fail to carry their immigration papers with them will face misdemeanor prosecution.
Although law makers “claim” that racial profiling will not be tolerated, this statement might as well be made with a “nudge/nudge, wink/wink” since this new law essentially authorizes cops to do just that.
Last weekend, Californians expressed their outrage with the law with one of the largest demonstrations in the nation. Police said that there were 50,000 protestors on the streets of Downtown Los Angeles calling for an immigration overhaul.
Racial profiling is certainly not a new or novel concept in California, which is perhaps why so many people took to the streets in protest. Living in Southern California, it’s probably more likely than not that we all know at least one person who has been the victim of this illegal and immoral practice.
Trying to enforce legal immigration is one thing -- giving cops the freedom to legally indulge their prejudices is another.
