Last month the U.S. Court of Appeals on stops based on race, language, job, or location. As of Monday, this no longer holds true. The U.S. Supreme Court on Los Angeles immigration stops made by federal agents working for Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While the decision is based on actions in L.A., New Mexico is concerned about wider implications in a state with the largest percentage of Latinos in the country.
鈥淚CE will take the decision as a clear signal to engage in this kind of race-based pretextual stops across the country, including here in New Mexico,鈥� Torrez said.
In the so-called 鈥溾�� bill, ICE got an additional $75 billion over the next four years to build detention centers and hire more personnel to . In fact, ICE is offering to work for their agency under the current administration. Some of these include:
- A maximum $50,000 signing bonus
- Up to $60,000 in federal student loan repayment or forgiveness
- A 25% premium pay for Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents.
Torrez said that ICE鈥檚 increased resources and pattern of race-based arrests are problematic.
鈥淚t undermines the basic values of this country and who we claim to be and who we are,鈥� Torrez said.
According to the libertarian Cato Institute, of people detained since the beginning of the current Trump Administration have no violent convictions and 65% of detainees have no criminal convictions at all.
In an analysis done last year by the Brookings Institution about the ways mass deportations , it shows that every time ICE arrests increase, there is a in the percentage of immigrants arrested who are reported as 鈥渃riminals.鈥�
Right now, this decision does not affect New Mexicans. But Torrez advises folks to read up on their , ask agents to identify themselves, ask why they鈥檙e being detained, and record incidents. He also recommends not resisting arrest, to prevent escalation of harm against yourself and to your case.
He encouraged anyone who believes they were subjected to racial profiling to contact his office.
