Sydney Martinez, Campus Carrier news editor

I was devastated when I heard that the Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 decision, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could question individuals based on their perceived ethnicity. In more basic terms, the Trump administration has a green light to continue to detain and deport people in the masses by showing up at Latino-dominated job sites, detaining people so long as they have an accent and don’t look white. The ruling from the Supreme Court impacts me and the 65.2 million Latinos in the United States.

Detaining people due to the pure suspicion of their legal status in the United States was previously blocked by a lower court’s order, which argued that federal agents were violating the Fourth Amendment. We are all — documented or not — protected under the Constitution and have the right against unreasonable searches without a warrant. 

This Supreme Court ruling may not impact you, your family or the people you know, but it impacts the immigrant communities of the United States. ICE has torn families apart, put law-abiding immigrants in inhumane detention centers and gone as far as sending migrants to countries where the immigrant did not  originate from.

I come from a Hispanic background, raised in a large extended family of Latinos, where my native tongue growing up was Spanish. I stay true to my Mexican roots through my language, customs and habits. These things can make me an easy target for ICE to stop me while I’m driving or simply shopping in Walmart. It’s not unheard of for ICE to unlawfully detain U.S. citizens for the color of their skin.

 If I am being completely honest, I am scared. I am not only scared for myself, but I’m also scared for others who look like me but aren’t properly documented. I am afraid of what America will become without the diversity that sets it apart.

Latinos are faithful members of society who contribute to the well-being of the country we fought so hard to live in. The United States is the product of immigration of white, African American, Latino and every other immigrant in between, voluntary or not. If it weren’t for the white immigrants who stole this land from the Native Americans, the white race would not have existed on what’s now American territory. 

I am a supporter of deporting criminals if they have gone through the due process of the law, but that’s not the entire case here. What’s being done right now is not what the administration promised. ICE is actively kidnapping Latinos from their homes simply because they are undocumented, without proof that they have committed crimes. 

Every immigrant deserves due process, something that the Trump administration has been bypassing to increase deportations. It is unfair for Latinos to be targeted when it brings no real benefit. Deporting people who aren’t criminals harms the economy and damages America’s reputation in foreign affairs. Will people still engage in affairs with us if we’re on the human rights watchlist?

I also want to comment on how this administration is ignoring the domestic terrorism caused by the majority race in this country. 68% of the population is white, and only 19% of the country is Latino. School shooters are mostly white males who follow an extremely conservative Republican ideology. 

If there’s anything I want you to take away from my opinion, it’s that we should advocate for a system that works for all, not just a certain people. Deporting the Latino community is unjust for the whole U.S. population.