Latinos are rethinking the harmful label “criminal” amid inhumane ICE raids and systemic injustice. This powerful perspective challenges the prison industrial complex and calls for unconditional human dignity beyond legal status or past mistakes. Discover why redefining criminality is key to immigrant justice and community solidarity.
The recent ICE raid on MacArthur park, Los Angeles, exposed brutal enforcement tactics and sparked widespread outrage. Residents and activists condemned the raid as barbaric, while critics called out Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom for failing to protect immigrant communities. Growing frustrations highlight demands for stronger sanctuary policies and real protections for undocumented Californians.
Latinidad, long celebrated as a unifying identity, has deep roots in anti-Blackness and erasure. From the myth of mestizaje to modern-day media exclusion, Afro-Latinos have been systematically pushed to the margins. This critique explores the harms of Latinidad’s whitewashed foundations, citing voices like Janel Martinez, Rosa Clemente, Alan Pelaez Lopez, and Zahira Kelly who demand accountability and visibility for Black Latinxs.
The casting of Zoë Saldaña as Nina Simone in the 2016 biopic sparked widespread backlash for perpetuating colorism and erasing Simone’s unapologetically dark-skinned identity. From the use of blackface to a prosthetic nose, the film failed to honor the legacy of a woman whose artistry was rooted in her experience as a proud, dark-skinned Black woman.
