As a proud American and Latino who has thrived in this generous country, I never thought I would ever be closing a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration on the sour note of knowing that it is now legal for law enforcement to target us. The color of our skin and our ability to speak another language are now scarlet letters that can condemn us to spending a few nights on ICE detention.
I wish this were an exaggeration. Sadly, it is not. A recent review by The New York Times of publicly reported cases found that, since January, at least 15 American citizens, almost all of them Hispanic, have been arrested and questioned about their citizenship in different parts of the country. I am certain, based on our experience and
almost daily desperate calls from community members, that this number represents a miniscule particle of a big problem. These cases are going underreported and swept under the rug because ICE is not required to keep tabs.
There’s no doubt that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that enables law enforcement to profile individuals
for immigration detention based on factors like race, ethnicity and language will only make things worse for all of us.
On the surface, this may seem to some like a non-issue issue. If I am a citizen, why worry? Just showing proof of citizenship should suffice, right? There, precisely, is the crux of the matter. Like any other American, as a naturalized citizen I am not required to carry proof of citizenship. Although fluent in English, I have an accent and my skin exhibits its Portuguese ancestry. I would be an easy magnet for selective, bigoted immigration detentions.
I am hardly a lone example of what can go wrong in a community like ours. Hispanics are the largest minority in Central Florida and comprise more than 30% of the population. The majority (about half of Central Florida Hispanics) are Puerto Rican, thus American citizens by birth. Many others are second and third generation Latinos born in the U.S. and naturalized citizens. That’s a lot of brown people who may be driving around while listening to Bad Bunny with no proof of citizenship. If racial profiling is allowed to flourish locally, based on sheer numbers alone, those of us who are citizens will be increasingly at risk of being unjustly detained.
The contributions to the growth and prosperity of Central Florida by its Hispanic members are many, but it is worth noting that is positive economic impact is among the most favorable in the nation. More than 19% of businesses in Orlando (or one out of every five) are owned by Latino entrepreneurs. Nationally, that is the 10th-highest percentage out of more than 180 metro areas recently included in a Wallet Hub study.
Our local elected officials and law enforcement agencies can make a difference. They have the power not to let Central Florida become a show-me-your-papers community, like an eerie echo of other horrific times in history. They can make a difference by doing the job to keep us all safe without sowing terror. It is possible to protect the integrity of our streets and neighborhoods while affirming the dignity of every individual who calls this place home.
We must also recognize that allowing ICE into our jail, or any kind of immigration enforcement in our schools, does not make us safer. It erodes trust, tears families apart, traumatizes the witnesses and unravels the very fabric that binds our community, law enforcement and our shared institutions. When people fear every encounter with an officer, citizen or not, they stop reporting crimes, they withdraw from civic life and live in constant anxiety. That is not freedom. That is not America.
Now is the moment to be bold. If our elected officials truly appreciate the contributions that Hispanics have made to this community, they should stand with us. To them I say: Enact policies that ensure that no child grows up afraid of being profiled because of his or her ethnicity and no American citizen is treated as an unwanted stranger in their own land. Make the pledge of allegiance you recite before every meeting mean something and protect and defend liberty and justice.
Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet is the executive director of the Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka.
