We should all be afraid
By Aadi Mehta, October 7, 2025
The Supreme Court decision on Sept. 8 to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to use racial profiling when detaining people is a clear attack on fundamental and constitutional rights that are meant to protect every equally under the law.
The ruling specifically used the court’s “emergency docket,” which is an urgent request for immediate intervention to block a lower court’s order, to give the green light for ICE to continue immigration stops in Los Angeles based on someone’s race, their ability to speak Spanish, and their employment in a low-wage job. These factors disproportionately target Latino populations, making them more vulnerable to being stopped.
“I’ve seen ICE and law enforcement use the parking lot as a meet up place to prepare and go conduct raids,” said Aaron Anaya, a senior student who lives in Los Angeles. “I’ve seen ICE show up at houses in my neighborhood and in my community and to me, we’re going back to the Jim Crow era, which is profiling to the max.”
It feels hypocritical for a Court that, in 2023, silenced racial minorities from the college admissions process by ending affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, where the justices ruled that Harvard’s practice of race-conscious admissions policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This begs the question of why the Court would rule that the use of race in one case is unconstitutional, but then a couple years later allow its use in another. In effect, this is both unacceptable and frankly, un-American. In this country, we are supposed to live with basic human rights that the federal government cannot override. Once again, the Supreme Court has rolled back its protections of these fundamental principles.
“I have no faith that the Supreme Court will bring about proper change,” Anaya said. “With the stuff that they’ve allowed to happen and move forward, they have shown in the past few years, time and time again, they don’t like [Latinos], and they’re going to continue with the corruption and put pressure on us.”
The Fourth Amendment explicitly prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The Court has now violated this statute by giving ICE agents the power to search someone just because of their appearance, speech, or body language. Not only are people being dehumanized, but they are living in fear.
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law regardless of one’s appearance, language, national origin, or occupation. This ruling is a blatant relapsing of these crucial protections that for so long have been the bedrock of racial equality in this country. I am horrified and sick to have to bear witness to what is a clear and present backsliding of our democracy.
“This is a hate crime towards people of color, especially Latinos, because it’s not at this point just getting criminals,” said Gabriella Ake, who is a member of a Latina sorority on campus. “It really is if you are Brown or you speak Spanish, then you are detained.”
For the 65 million Latinos, per the 2020 U.S. Census, living in this country that are being targeted by the Court and the current administration, I worry their freedoms are more at risk because of this ruling. The Court would rather have migrants detained, families separated, and communities abandoned instead of upholding pertinent freedoms that protect all Americans. It is shameful of them to apply the law in such a way that takes the country back to the pre-Civil Rights era of the 1960s.
English and Modern Languages Chair and Professor Kent Dickson said the Supreme Court’s actions warrant the ratification of a language policy that recognizes the multiplicity of languages spoken to combat the racism associated with anti-Spanish sentiment.
“It’s very disheartening as a professor to see your students targeted and then see the effects,” Dickson, who specializes in Latin American literature courses, said. “This is a moment of retrenchment because immigrant families that come here and try to establish themselves with their children are no longer moving forward with their lives. They’re taking a pause, stepping back, staying out of sight, and staying out of the crosshairs of these policies.”
In these troubling times, I ask for everyone to come together and unite against those in power who seek to tear us apart and shatter the American dream. Latinos are Americans, Spanish is our second language, workers are the heart and soul of this economy. I ask that everyone pray for the safety and betterment of others.
No American deserves this. We all want to live in peace, surrounded by our loved ones, and live in a safe environment where we do not have to fear for those around us. We all consider America our home, even if our leaders do not.
Feature graphic courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton