Recently, Arizona passed a law that allows police officers and other authorities inspect the vehicle of a person they have reason to believe is an illegal immigrant.

The problem with this new law is that it promotes racial profiling. How can an officer know if a person is an illegal immigrant just by looking at them, unless it solely based on their looks? 

If we do not protest this law, we are opening windows of opportunity for those who would like to see our borders closed. The very foundation of America is the idea that anyone from anywhere can escape persecution and live in the land of the free.

If we start racially profiling drivers in our country, where will this discrimination end? Soon we will have people doing it to everyone on the daily basis, creating a culture of intolerable, racist, closed-minded people.

Imagine living in a country where you can’t go to the mall to have lunch because you are afraid that of the color of your skin might cause authorities to arrest you. What if the clothes you are wearing or the food you are eating makes authorities suspect that you are possibly an illegal alien and you end up humiliated in public because of these false charges.

My family legally came to America from El Salvador. In that country, police can pull you aside and treat you with prejudice simply because you look different. The thought that my family moved from a small third world nation to our free and distinguished country, only to still potentially deal with the same discriminatory and profound injustices, is deeply upsetting to me.

Why is it considered OK to assume a person is illegal simply because of the way they look? Personally, I believe this is a violation of human and First Amendment rights, especially the inherent right to privacy. The American government is slowly but surely diminishing its citizens’ right to privacy.

We have to come together as a more open-minded generation and break down the color barrier that some racists keep building. We need to stand up and appreciate the contributions that our visitors and immigrants make to our country. If we do unite, we can secure a better, more diverse culture and life for our children. We can have a future in which laws that unfairly persecute people do not pass through the legal system.

The ironic thing for me is that I’m Latino, but because of the light color of my skin, I will never be pulled over or questioned about whether I’m legal or not. I have a friend whose family has been in the US for over five generations, but because he has darker skin, he could get pulled over in Arizona, simply because of the way he looks.