I’m sitting on the edge of fatalism, trying not to give in. Trying to be optimistic.
The United States Supreme Court just lifted a temporary restraining order that had protected Latinos in Los Angeles from what lower courts and several legal experts had already flagged as unconstitutional: detentions based solely on the color of our skin, the language we speak, or the kind of jobs we work.
In other words, ICE can once again roam our neighborhoods, grabbing “Latino looking” people without any cause.
And … shit. I don’t know what to say anymore. I’m trying to intellectualize it. Trying to sound like some kind of expert on what this means. Asking the chatbots to explain the ruling, as if logic will uncover a hidden fairness I just can’t see. But the truth is there’s something I don’t understand: what do Latinos have to do to get justice in this country?
I can’t help but think back to 2020, when the Supreme Court surprised almost everyone by protecting DACA. That morning, I was with Rodolfo Barrientos, the owner of Gracias Señor. His mom cried tears of joy when she saw the news that her son could stay in the only country he’s ever known.
At his taco truck in Pacific Palisades, customers of every race lined up. High school kids called him their hero. For one day, you could see Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous line — the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice—in real time, in the form of tacos and tears and relief.
It didn’t last, of course. Even Rudy knew it wouldn’t.