I wanted to quickly share a moment over the holiday weekend when I felt my own white privilege. I was driving in southern New Mexico with my wife and two kids - all of us white - and came up to stop at an immigration check point on the highway. "Are you all US Citizens?" the agent asked. "Yes," I replied, and was waved on. And with a stop of all of 3 seconds I was on my way again. Because we were white, of course we were US citizens. No need to present papers, or answer any other questions. We could drive up to the stop and feel no discomfort or fear, knowing it was only a few seconds delay and we'd soon be continuing our drive.
But what if I were Latino, or married to a Latina? While I can only speculate about how the specific guard would have acted (and I have no reason to think that individual would've been anything less than professional and courteous), there are enough horror stories out there that I figure the approach to an immigration check point - even for a documented worker or US citizen - must be a nervous experience, wondering whether all will go smoothly or if not how long you might be held up, what harassment you might be subjected to, wondering if you remembered to carry documents proving your citizenship or right to be in the US. My wife and I used it as a quick teaching moment with our kids, talking to them about how they might feel if they were stopped and questioned if they happend to be of Mexican heritage instead of white. We want them to understand their white privilege and have a bit more sympathy for those who don't enjoy that privilege and for whom living in America can be a very different experience.
I understand why we have these check points, but stopping at one reminded me of how far we have to go toward having a truly just society for immigrants and Latin-American citizens. We won't have justice so long as we treat "driving while brown" as a presumed criminal offense until proven innocent, entrust power to bigots like Sheriff Arpaio, and have an elected Congress that thinks it should be an impeachable offense for a President to show some compassion and decency - not to mention common sense - in addressing immigration. A quick stop at a checkpoint may be no big deal, but it reminded me again of those deeper problems we still face.