You’re scared to leave your home. You don’t feel safe in public spaces, business is slowing down and money isn’t coming in. This is what many immigrants and small business owners have been experiencing due to a recent Supreme Court ruling.
As of Sept. 8, the Supreme Court ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is allowed to detain people based on race, skin color, employment location and language spoken. After interviewing different people in the community, we found that they all share similar concerns about immigration enforcement. They worry whether or not they will be safe going out and even doing the simplest tasks, like going to work, grocery shopping and just pumping gas. It is also an issue that people who aren’t immigrants still get deported just because they look Hispanic or are heard speaking Spanish. This change in the country is causing fear and panic to spread across many Hispanic communities.
All individuals interviewed for this story will remain anonymous to protect them from retaliation and targeting based on their immigration status. They will be identified as Anonymous 1, Anonymous 2 and Anonymous 3. Anonymous 1 is a day-to-day construction worker, Anonymous 2 is a small business worker, and Anonymous 3 is a small-business owner.
There are those who believe this new law is prejudiced and unjust. Anonymous 1 shared what they think about the new law.
“I think that this law that they implemented is racist because we are discriminated against based on the simple fact of having a different skin color from all the other Americans,” Anonymous 1 said.
On top of that, the idea of the United States as a country of freedom is not ringing true to those affected by this situation.
“In this land, the so-called ‘land of the free,’ you’re supposed to be able to go out and about without being profiled, and that’s changing,” Anonymous 2 said.
Furthermore, some individuals may feel that the Supreme Court ruling could lead to situations where authority is misused and power can be manipulated to benefit ICE agents.
“Sometimes there is an abuse of authority- it has happened before,” Anonymous 3 said.
Many Hispanic immigrant employees are terrified at the thought of not returning home from work when they are the sole providers for their families.
“Well, my biggest concern is, as I said before, going out to work and things occurring that we don’t want to happen. For the simple fact that I have my kids and my wife, I am the only provider for my family, and if something were to happen, it would have a huge impact for my family,” Anonymous 1 said.
Another significant concern that those affected have expressed is being targeted based on physical appearance and spoken language.
“What I’m concerned about is that they’re gonna start deporting people just by the way we look and the way we talk,” Anonymous 2 said.
In response to these growing fears, it would help immigrants in the community if people who are not affected by this Supreme Court ruling speak up because their voices are most likely to be heard.
“Those people who have their legal documents should try to help us. They should try to talk with the authorities, and more than anything, lift their voice so they can hear us, so we also, someday, have documents that help us, immigrants, work free and at ease in this country,” Anonymous 1 said.
