In California, it's not good to be Latino
As ICE raids increase, fear of racial profiling is gripping the Latino community, whose members feel targeted and discriminated against like never before, according to this report from the Los Angeles Times.
Jackie Ramirez has always been self-conscious about her skin color. At school, the officer who escorted children across the street called her morenita, “ little brown girl.” One of her uncles affectionately called her paisita, “ little girl from the country.”
But for the past month, the color of his skin has become increasingly central to his life—ever since ICE agents descended on Southern California, arresting hundreds of people. Disturbing rumors and videos are multiplying: [employees] being stopped at car washes, street vendors being arrested without warrants. One Latino American citizen even had to tell law enforcement which hospital he was born in.
Everyone has heard of the racial profiling so dreaded by Black drivers. But they aren't the only ones affected: skin color is also an issue for Latinos, and this has become particularly evident with the raids of recent weeks.
Jackie Ramirez was born to a mother who was born in Mexico and a father of Mexican descent, and grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles. “All dark-skinned people are afraid,” confides this young radio host. “It’s better not to have a certain
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