EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Pedro Rios says immigration agents are picking low-hanging fruit when they target Home Depots, construction sites and other informal job sites to arrest undocumented immigrants.
Rios, director of American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program, added that the Supreme Court this week legitimized those controversial tactics when it cleared the way for agents to stop people solely based on their race, language, job or location.
The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a restraining order from a judge who found that agents were conducting indiscriminate stops in and around Los Angeles.
On this episode of Border Report Live, Rios speaks with correspondent Salvador Rivera about the ruling and its effects on communities in Southern California. Rios said such tactics have been used in the past, and he argues that the ruling will erode the protections that many people have come to expect.
Other immigrant advocacy groups have said the ruling does not uphold the law or make our nation safer.
The El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights issued a statement, saying Latino communities across the United States are facing an “unprecedented and unconstitutional campaign of abuse that has generated widespread fear and terror.”
“Let us be clear: this is no longer about immigration enforcement,” BNHR said in a statement. “It is state-sanctioned persecution of Latino communities. … It enables racial targeting, tears families apart, and erodes the constitutional protections that safeguard us all from authoritarian rule.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the Supreme Court’s stay “a win for the safety and security of the American people and the rule of law.”
“Our brave @DHSGov law enforcement will continue our operations in LA to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens that pose a danger to public safety,” Noem tweeted on Monday. “Make America Safe Again!”
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