The Highway Patrol said stops are based solely on driver behavior. “We do not enter neighborhoods or stop vehicles based on who someone is — we stop based on what they do behind the wheel,” it said.
But immigrant rights supporters contend that the patrols have focused on parts of the city where the majority of residents are people of color.
“All signs point to this being racial profiling intended to terrorize the heart of the immigrant and refugee community,” Sherman Luna said. “What we’ve heard is that THP is flagging people down for things like a broken taillight or tinted windows.”
Sherman Luna believes some of those being detained would be allowed to stay in the country if they were able to receive competent legal representation at an immigration hearing. Instead, she has heard that people are agreeing to be deported out of fear that they could spend months or years in immigration detention.
The fear-based GOP spreading its magic throughout the land
