When the law targets Latinos: The battles yet to be fought
Latinos across the country are celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act—and rightly so. Currently, 1 in 3 Latinos are uninsured, and the community stands to benefit greatly by improvements in health-care access. However, important battles for immigrants and Latinos remain.
In the same week the Supreme Court upheld the historic health-care act, it also upheld the most controversial tenet of Arizona’s notorious racial-profiling law, otherwise known as SB 1070. This provision gives police officers the right to demand “papers” of anyone who “appears” to be in the country without authorization.
Add that to the recent House passage of the Violence Against Women Act—legislation that is intended to protect women from violent crimes, but actually excludes or weakens protections for many groups, especially immigrant victims of violence—and it is clear there is much more to do.
It’s not unusual for immigrants—and even those who “look like” immigrants—to be ignored and even dehumanized by immigration opponents. But the law should not support such behavior.
And so, even as we applaud news that the Affordable Care Act stands, we are concerned about some of its provisions.
Read more at The Daily Beast

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