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I was arrested because I look illegal and forgot my wallet at home. spend 8 hours in jail until my family brought my passport to show that I was born in the USA. I wonder if I look white this would have ever happen to me?
That will teach you not to leave your wallet and ID at home.
I was arrested because I look illegal and forgot my wallet at home. spend 8 hours in jail until my family brought my passport to show that I was born in the USA. I wonder if I look white this would have ever happen to me?
If you yourself think you "look illegal", perhaps the police thought so too, and acted on that belief. If they asked you to prove them WRONG, by showing you WEREN'T illegal, and you couldn't do so because of your own refusal to carry ID, then that's your mistake.
Tell me, how exactly does one manage to 'look illegal', anyway? Please don't say it's 'race'....because many people in my own immediate family share the race of MOST of today's illegals....yet to me...(and to THEM), they don't "look illegal"....and as far as I've ever heard, they've never been arrested...or even profiled.
If I'm on the way to a costume party and I walk into my bank, carrying a pillowcase, a toy pistol, and wearing a black ski mask, I'd "look like a bank robber", and I'd probably draw a LOT of negative attention to myself. If I were silly enough to DO that, I should probably figure out ahead of time some way I could PROVE I wasn't REALLY a robber....(like carrying my bank passbook, ID, etc)...or I could probably expect to be 'hassled'. So, again, exactly what was it you did that made you "look illegal"?
There needs to be more racial profiling, not less, the aim is to do the job and if someone has nothing to hide they should be willing to cooperate, just as airline passengers do.
so you were doing something that warranted further investigation? there was a reason to be suspicious of you?
Yes; boarding an airplane en route to the Pacific NW and having longish hair, beard, tiedyed T shirt, jeans as well as carrying a knapsack. The cops thought I was an Earth First! terrorist or something similar.
Again: LE was simply doing its job----------which I do respect
Some people seem to be confused. Hispanic is not a race. If you look at census statistics for cities when it lists the hispanic population it will have a notation like *Hispanic pop. can be of any race*.... For example there are black Cubans, Peruvians of Chinese descent, Mexicans of Amer-Indian descent, Argentinians of Anglo-Saxon descent and they all are Hispanics. So what does it mean to "look hispanic?" And even more confusing: how does one "look illegal?" Did the poster claiming to look illegal mean that he looks Mexican? While I am not a fan of racial profiling or these new powers that the police in Utah have, if the people of the state gave them these new powers then we have to accept the mandate of the people. How can you prove that the police are profiling? How would one know that they are not asking Caucasian or African-American arrestees about their status? Just because no white or black illegal aliens have been arrested does not mean that they are profiling. Also, how many Caucasian or Black undocumented immigrants populate that area? If it is well known that the majority of the undocumented immigrants of that area are mestizo Mexicans then the profiling claim will not hold water. If this law was passed here in Newark, NJ and they were only questioning Mexicans about their status then someone would be able to pull the racial profiling card because there is a sizeable undocumented population of people from Brazil, including Brazilian Caucasians and Blacks.
Some people seem to be confused. Hispanic is not a race. If you look at census statistics for cities when it lists the hispanic population it will have a notation like *Hispanic pop. can be of any race*.... For example there are black Cubans, Peruvians of Chinese descent, Mexicans of Amer-Indian descent, Argentinians of Anglo-Saxon descent and they all are Hispanics. So what does it mean to "look hispanic?" And even more confusing: how does one "look illegal?" Did the poster claiming to look illegal mean that he looks Mexican? While I am not a fan of racial profiling or these new powers that the police in Utah have, if the people of the state gave them these new powers then we have to accept the mandate of the people. How can you prove that the police are profiling? How would one know that they are not asking Caucasian or African-American arrestees about their status? Just because no white or black illegal aliens have been arrested does not mean that they are profiling. Also, how many Caucasian or Black undocumented immigrants populate that area? If it is well known that the majority of the undocumented immigrants of that area are mestizo Mexicans then the profiling claim will not hold water. If this law was passed here in Newark, NJ and they were only questioning Mexicans about their status then someone would be able to pull the racial profiling card because there is a sizeable undocumented population of people from Brazil, including Brazilian Caucasians and Blacks.
Something similar happen to me when I was in La Guardia Airport (it was a connective flight). Since the connective flight was with a different airline, I had to walk over two miles for that terminal. I'm originally from Puerto Rico, and since the ID was written in Spanish an agent thought I was illegal (maybe he didn't know that PR is an US territory, and that passports are not required for traveling to other states). He called his supervisor, and the supervisor scolded him for that; he let me pass, of course. However, that agent requested a complete body checkout; I might be Latin, but I look very Mediterranean (white skin, defined cheek bones, full lips, long face, dark hair, and pretty ebony eyes), and I was wearing a long raincoat with a hair cloth (it was winter and I didn't had proper head gear for winter), and he immediately thought I might be some kind of "terrorist" in disguise. They told me things like: "nice try as posing as a Puerto Rican so then you come here and try to attack us", "that disguise was pretty good, you almost caught us", "we'll make sure there won't be anymore September 11", "thanks to you, that huge telescope is closing, right?". They told me horrible things, and I started to cry. Never in my life I've felt so humiliated, and so insulted. I've traveled tons of times to PR and the continental states and this never happen. Some people are mistaken by illegal aliens, but I was mistaken for a Middle Eastern terrorist that was usurping someone else's identity.
When they opened my luggage, and found nothing but clothes, lingerie, birth control pills, tampons, and sheets, they offered me an apology. I didn't accept it.
Now, I'm in the military. These days, they offer me no check up and upgrades to first class. I will only accept that special treatment if I ever go back to La Guardia.
Something similar happen to me when I was in La Guardia Airport (it was a connective flight). Since the connective flight was with a different airline, I had to walk over two miles for that terminal. I'm originally from Puerto Rico, and since the ID was written in Spanish an agent thought I was illegal (maybe he didn't know that PR is an US territory, and that passports are not required for traveling to other states). He called his supervisor, and the supervisor scolded him for that; he let me pass, of course. However, that agent requested a complete body checkout; I might be Latin, but I look very Mediterranean (white skin, defined cheek bones, full lips, long face, dark hair, and pretty ebony eyes), and I was wearing a long raincoat with a hair cloth (it was winter and I didn't had proper head gear for winter), and he immediately thought I might be some kind of "terrorist" in disguise. They told me things like: "nice try as posing as a Puerto Rican so then you come here and try to attack us", "that disguise was pretty good, you almost caught us", "we'll make sure there won't be anymore September 11", "thanks to you, that huge telescope is closing, right?". They told me horrible things, and I started to cry. Never in my life I've felt so humiliated, and so insulted. I've traveled tons of times to PR and the continental states and this never happen. Some people are mistaken by illegal aliens, but I was mistaken for a Middle Eastern terrorist that was usurping someone else's identity.
When they opened my luggage, and found nothing but clothes, lingerie, birth control pills, tampons, and sheets, they offered me an apology. I didn't accept it.
Now, I'm in the military. These days, they offer me no check up and upgrades to first class. I will only accept that special treatment if I ever go back to La Guardia.
Refer to my Post #15 concerning Profiling.
Translation: it is not just a Hispanic/Italian/Middle Eastern thing.
My step sister lived in PR for a while (her hubby works for the government) and she wound up learning Spanish out of 'self defense'-----------she gets mistaken for Puerto Rican a lot courtesy of her dark complexion. Never mind that she is an 'Anglo' 100% White woman of Irish/Italian lineage.
Hell: I would 'profile' every White person who does not speak English as well
Yeah because we all know how Arizona is crawling with White people who do not habla Ingles.
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