Ninth Circuit on Racial Profiling in Immigration Enforcement

The Ninth Circuit today issued today, in an opinion by Judge Carlos Bea, decided an immigration stop case.  Click here (Download Manzo-Jurado.pdf ) to read it.  Here is the punch line:  “We revisit the important issue of when information available to officers creates a reasonable suspicion that an individual is in the United States illegally so as to justify an investigatory stop. Given the particular facts of this case- individuals’ appearance as a Hispanic work crew, inability to speak English, proximity to the border, and unsuspicious behavior-law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion that Appellant and his co-workers were in this country illegally.”  The Court, however, distinguished its holding in United States v. Montero-Camargo, 208 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc), which involved a stop neare the U.S./Mexico border where there is a heavy Latina/o population, and stated that “Hispanic appearance” was a permissible factor for the Border Patrol to consider in the case at hand because the stop was in Montana, where there are relatively few Hispanics.  (at note 8 and accompanying text).  What is “Hispanic appearance” and how is it relevant to immigration status?  Shouln’t we be looking for persons of “Canadian appearance” who may be undocumented near the Canadian border?  has anyone ever seen Jorge Castaneda, the former Foreign Minister of Mexico who recently debated Lou Dobbs on Immigration?  To many, he may be of “Canadian appearance” not “Hispanic appearance.” 

KJ