In 2010 I was racially profiled and it wasn't in Arizona. I was living in Connecticut at the time (yes, the same state where East Haven police officers were arrested for harassing Latinos) and on my way to work with a friend. As we approached the exit, we were stopped by a state police officer. He told us we were driving erratic and speeding, which we weren't, but ok, "just give us the ticket so we can be on our way" we thought.
After giving the officer proper identification according to Connecticut state law, he then asked us for our social security cards. We were highly upset and surprised but kept our composure and refused, stating our identification cards were sufficient enough and we were unaware of any law requiring us to show social security cards as proof of identification.
Again, this happened in the state of Connecticut. I can only imagine the fear that Latinos in Arizona go through daily because of SB 1070.
Many people feel, because they are American citizens, that they will never go through this type of profiling, but I am here to let you know that your skin color, your political belief or your approval of SB 1070 will not save you. Being Latino in this country has its problems. Still.
I challenge anyone who believes this law does not profile Latinos to study the police training video for SB-1070 and see how "reasonable subscription" is defined under the Arizona law.
[…] Latino Rebels has the police training video for Arizona’s SB 1070 and wonders how it can be said that this law does not profile Latinos. […]