"On a chilly day in January, Jose Alvaro, his wife, and their three kids piled into the family car to grab some baby formula at the grocery store. It was a routine trip. But when police in Lubbock, Texas, pulled them over - reportedly for a license plate issue - their lives took a catastrophic turn. Alvaro, 29, was undocumented. Though he had no criminal record and though he was in the process of applying for a green card, the officer contacted ICE."
"The criminalization of minor transportation offenses - and their enforcement through discriminatory stops - has wrought havoc among Black, brown, and immigrant Americans for years. These communities have long understood that seemingly routine stops can lead to arrest, police violence, or deportation proceedings, sowing distrust and endangering the person stopped, as well as making it harder for law enforcement agencies to keep residents safe."
A routine traffic stop in Lubbock, Texas resulted in immigration officers detaining an undocumented parent, illustrating how minor enforcement can produce catastrophic family separations. Minor transportation violations are frequently enforced through discretionary stops that disproportionately affect Black, brown, and immigrant communities, creating fear of arrest, police violence, or rapid deportation without due process. Decriminalizing minor violations or deprioritizing their enforcement can protect families, reduce discriminatory outcomes, and improve public safety by rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. State and local policy change is presented as an urgent and actionable remedy.
Read at Streetsblog
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