#BlackLivesMatter on right track for 2016
There are many who disagree with the confrontational tactics toward politicians by the Dreamers and #BlackLivesMatter movement, which have generated the usual objections: “Why are you going after him?”; “She is our ally”; or “It is so disrespectful.”
With unjustified killings, searches without warrants and separation of families, however, our right to “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” has taken a very different meaning within the context of the alarming increase in constitutional abuses by law enforcement.
{mosads}What those objections fail to consider is the urgency — beyond just Election Day — that can no longer be ignored by our allies like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Just last month, a police officer in Ohio was indicted on a murder charge for shooting Samuel Dubose, an unarmed black man, in the head during a minor traffic stop.
Dubose never posed a threat to the officer, and the incident was the latest in a series of fatal confrontations in the United States that have raised questions about law enforcement’s use of force against minorities.
This is not a new phenomena: A report found that 102 people have been killed by police so far this year and new data reported by the FBI released last year showed that while violent crime is down, police killings of civilians is up. Social media has made this more visible to the American people.
This goes beyond just the criminal justice system and affects immigration enforcement, which is civil. Detainers are the principal mechanism for immigration agents to obtain custody of immigrants who are initially arrested by state or local law enforcement officials for as little as a parking ticket.
Unlike criminal arrest warrants, which are based upon probable cause and must be issued by a neutral magistrate, a detainer can be issued by virtually any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, without probable cause.
It is a basic Fourth Amendment rule that the government cannot imprison you without “probable cause,” believing you committed a crime. This aggressive use of detainers have resulted in the Department of Homeland Security deporting a record 2 million immigrants under the Obama administration.
Federal courts have already found detainers unconstitutional and have limited them, but the assault on the Constitution continues.
When activists take up confrontational tactics, it’s not to make media appearances, but to shed light on the manifestations of an unjust system that deviates from cherished constitutional protections.
As the 2016 cycle nears Election Day, activists will increase the pressure as the American people call for answers and solutions. Real accountability in 2016, however, starts by pressuring all presidential candidates.
Of course we cannot forget Barack Obama, who is still president and has done little to address such constitutional violations other than have then-Attorney General Eric Holder make a simple appearance at Ferguson, Mo. and publish a report on something the American people already knew about.
It is easy to get caught up in the intensity and empty rituals of politics, but we must remember that preserving the constitutional liberties for our community is the only priority, not making friends with politicians — including the first African-American president — or their staff.
The U.S. Constitution is not an inconvenient accident; since the Bill of Rights was first signed in 1791, it was meant to be substantive authority to safeguard the American people against an arbitrary abuse of government power.
Not allowing a politician to speak may be disrespectful, but it follows in the same spirit and tradition this nation was founded on.
Vargas is co-director of the Dream Action Coalition and a national advocate for immigration reform.