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IN SUMMARY:
As immigration agents conduct mobile patrols, a Cal State Fullerton student reflects on the racial profiling her father suffered and how it inspired her to correct that narrative.
This article is also available in English. Read it here.
Guest Comment written by
Priscilla Preciado
Priscilla Preciado is a Cal State Fullerton student majoring in Communication with a minor in Journalism.
More than 30 years ago, my father, then a young Chicano of 21, was driving to a 7-Eleven in Tustin, where he had recently moved, accompanied by four friends.
A police officer soon followed and motioned my father to the parking lot. Soon one car became two, then four.
My father’s jet-black, slicked-back hair, caramel-colored skin, and imposing presence stood out among the majority white population of Tustin. He was covered in tattoos. War’s “The World Is a Ghetto” blared from the speakers of his lowrider. The police probably believed they had a sure case: cholo, uneducated, probably a criminal. They searched his car unfairly.
Since there were no incriminating items in the car, the officers told my father to leave. He and two of his friends had identification so they were able to leave. The other two did not have it and were arrested.
As the Border Patrol joins Immigration and Customs Enforcement carry out mobile patrols throughout the country the racial discrimination incident my father suffered resonates today. I feel like the barriers are narrowing for Latinos like my dad, just like they used to.
Yet what is happening today connects me more to his story.
My father, the oldest of five children, was responsible for taking care of his younger siblings as his father was in prison and his mother worked in an appliance store to support the family. My father felt like an outcast most of his life.
When I asked him what aspects of himself he considered the most appreciated, he replied: “The way I dress, the color of my skin, the tattoos. Even as an adult, I still feel like I’m attracting attention.”
Listening to my father recall these stories broke my heart.
My father was my life, his voice a beacon of light guiding me through the ocean of uncertainty in the world.
As a senior, I wanted to celebrate my graduation with my dad, but the thought of stepping foot on campus made him anxious.
“I don’t want to stop you from getting more opportunities,” he said.
My father took the world’s image of him and saw himself as an obstacle to my success, assuming that his physical appearance would always trump his inner self. Prejudice split him in two. Apparently, the world wanted to take away the image of my father that I so cherished: a devoted father, a diligent brother, a husband.
I never saw my father as an obstacle to my success, but rather as an extension of him. He wanted to sever the connection between his past and my identity so that it wouldn’t become an obstacle to my dreams and prevent the world from seeing me as anything other than my kinship with him. But as his daughter, I refused to let that bond be broken.
Today, my father not only fears for his own safety, but for mine as well.
“You always have to be aware of your surroundings. You’re darker than your brothers. You look a lot like me, so you’re more vulnerable to prejudice and the experiences I’ve had. Watch where you’re going now and only go if you have to,” my father advises.
The ICE raids bridged the gap between my upbringing and my father’s. Skin color is again a major concern for Latinos.
According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, 57% of Hispanic adults say their skin color affected their daily experiences “a lot”. and 62% reported that their darker skin hindered their ability to thrive. In his concurring opinion on Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo Superior Court Judge Brett Cavanaugh noted that race-based detentions are part of immigration enforcement and may be valid depending on certain factors: that there are large numbers of “undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles area”; that these people tend to congregate in certain places to look for daily work; who often work in jobs such as “landscaping, agriculture and construction”. Many legal experts argue that Cavanaugh’s opinion This effectively allows immigration agents to choose who to detain based on their race. In September, the Department of Homeland Security announced that 2 million “undocumented aliens” have left of the US, with 1.6 million being ” voluntarily self-deports ” and more than 400,000 deportations.
As society continues to demonize men in our communities, we daughters need to speak up and correct this narrative.
In the past, the union has worked. c 1968 we removed the barriers to education with Chicano Blowouts when 15,000 students walked out of their classrooms to protest the discouragement and unequal treatment of Mexican Americans in education. In the 1970s, the Brown Berets fought the disproportionate recruitment of Mexicans into the Vietnam War with “Chicano Moratorium,” and in the 1990s, We encourage the repeal of Proposition 187, an anti-immigrant law.
Every Chicano victory was achieved through the union of hands and minds, proving that the flame of change is best ignited by union. This is something my father also taught me: even in the ups and downs of life, when everything seems bleak, pain turns into light. And from this constellation, a path to the future begins to emerge.
This commentary is adapted from an essay published in Plinth Public Square .
