Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

Seattle organizers are holding a “Community Vigil Against Racial Profiling” outside of the federal building on September 18 from noon to 1:30 p.m. to raise awareness about immigrant workers’ rights. This vigil comes just ten days after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) reversed judgments from two lower courts, allowing immigration enforcement agents to, again, conduct stops rooted in racism. 

California’s Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem case prohibited immigration agents from pulling people over without any reasonable suspicion, and from relying on four factors: apparent race and ethnicity; speaking English with an accent or Spanish; being in a certain location like a bus stop, car wash, or agricultural site; and the type of work a person performs. But on September 8, SCOTUS approved a federal government request to pause a temporary restraining order (TRO) that prevented federal agencies from carrying out these racist tactics.

“The stakes are high. This decision gives a green light to lawless, racialized violence, terrorizing immigrant workers, their families, and anyone who ‘fits the description.’ It threatens to expand to other communities across the country if left unchecked,” according to vigil organizers. 

The vigil is hosted by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), which noted how the SCOTUS ruling is an extreme setback but that the legal battle is far from finished. On September 24, a federal district court will listen to arguments with additional evidence of the government’s unlawful actions, and will decide on whether to issue a preliminary injunction— which would temporarily stop the feds from carrying out biased policing until the court is able to make a final decision. 

“By pausing the TRO, the court has turned its back on our communities and the Constitution, facilitating the Trump administration’s terror campaign against immigrant communities and communities of color. But we will not retreat. We will continue to defend our communities in court and on every corner, every job site, every day,” said Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of NDLON. 

The American Immigration Council stated that SCOTUS’s decision is a warning that it will not uphold immigration enforcement agents and their practices to constitutional standards.

“As the Trump administration ramps up immigration raids in other cities like Chicago, we can expect federal agents to be emboldened by this decision,” the American Immigration Council said. 

Click here to register for the event.

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