Nick Taichi Steiner
Senior Staff Attorney
Sara Medrano, a Latina grandmother and Frederick County resident, was driving her daughter and two grandchildren to pick up laundry detergent on her way to work when a Frederick County sheriff’s deputy pulled her over, purportedly for a “broken” taillight — that was working just fine — and detained her. In Medrano’s words: “I was so scared thinking that this stop would be the last moment I would have with my grandchildren and my daughter.”
The only reason for this stop? The color of her skin. The deputy asked about Medrano’s immigration status before detaining and illegally holding her for the actual purpose of trying to transfer her to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. Eventually, the sheriff’s office released her.
This OpEd was originally published in The Washington Post on February 5, 2021.
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