Cristal Canas Garcia (Student)
How is it possible that each time this country seems to be doing well, it crashes? Monday, September 8th, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled against millions of Latinos and immigrants, the very people who help build this country every day. In Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the Court ruled 6-3 to let immigration agents stop people based on how they look, what language they speak, what job they have, or where they work. This ruling does not just affect undocumented immigrants. It takes us back to a time when a whole group of people was once again chosen to be marginalized and treated as alien.
This ruling also brings up a bigger question: do we even still have our Fourth Amendment rights? Families are being separated, and day laborers are being tackled and thrown into unmarked vans by masked federal agents as if they were dangerous criminals. These agents claim certain people are not American. But who gets to decide that? The Supreme Court has allowed the government to violate people’s right to privacy simply because they look or sound “foreign.”
People from the past, like those living in the 1920s or even 1988, might have hoped that by 2025, America would be different. Sadly, it is not. In 1988, George H.W. Bush’s campaign benefited from the Willie Horton ad, which painted Black men as violent criminals to scare white voters. This ad was not directly funded by Bush, but it helped him gain votes by spreading fear. Similarly, Kristi Noem’s recent ad demonizes immigrants:
“President Trump and I have a clear message to those in our country illegally: LEAVE NOW. If you do not self-deport, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and deport you. Download the FREE CBP Home app today to self-deport.”
The words “hunt you down” are especially disturbing. They make immigrants seem less than human, like animals to be chased. Noem also claims that immigrants bring drugs, human trafficking, and violent crime. This fear tactic is not new. It is the same strategy politicians have always used to divide people and gain power. When this kind of message spreads, it influences the political climate, which can even affect Supreme Court decisions like this one.
This decision also goes against past legal rulings. In 1975, the Supreme Court decided in United States v. Brignoni-Ponce that Border Patrol agents could not stop a vehicle based only on the driver looking Mexican, even near the border. The Court said that stopping people only because of how they look clearly violated the Fourth Amendment. But now, in 2025, this new decision reverses that ruling and throws out years of progress.
History keeps repeating itself. In the 1930s, many New Deal programs were supposed to help people recover from the Great Depression. But minorities were often left out because local governments discriminated against them. Redlining and other practices kept communities divided. Over and over again, certain groups have been pushed aside, marginalized, and treated as alien, only for the country to later look back in shame. How long will it take before we admit that what is happening in 2025 is wrong? How many families will be torn apart before we realize the damage?
ustice Kavanaugh, who wrote the majority opinion, claimed that these stops are justified by the “totality of circumstances,” like the high immigrant population in Los Angeles. This logic is dangerous both morally and legally. It makes it seem like anyone seeking a better life, the so-called “American Dream,” can be treated as a criminal just because of how they look or what job they have. Day laborers and immigrants are just trying to support their families, yet this ruling punishes them for it.
Fear has always been a tool in politics. In 1988, the Willie Horton ad was used to scare voters into supporting one candidate. Today, Kristi Noem is using immigrants as a political weapon in the same way. It is the same ugly cycle: pick a group, blame them for society’s problems, and use fear to win votes. Politicians gain power while innocent people pay the price.
We cannot let that cycle continue. Congress must pass a law clearly saying that stops based only on appearance, language, workplace, or job are unconstitutional. Local communities should create oversight committees to watch what is happening and keep people informed.History has shown us that we either stand up for what is right or let fear control us.
So what does this Supreme Court decision mean for our democracy? Even though the first two lower courts said no, the Supreme Court said yes, and that is terrifying. Justice Sotomayor warned that this decision is creating “second-class citizenship.” These rulings do not just hurt immigrants, they hurt all of us by breaking apart our communities.At the end of the day, we are all foreign, but we are also all American. Our constitutional rights should be for everyone. If we let fear decide who is “American,” we will keep repeating the darkest parts of our history again and again.
