Sheila Velez Martinez Comments on Profiling of Latino Drivers

Professor Sheila Velez Martinez, who directs Pitt Law's Immigration Law Clinic, spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette regarding concerns that Latinos are being inappropriately profiled by law enforcement officers.  She said:

"We are unfortunately seeing a pattern of people who look Latino being detained in the region without state-related charges. Most of our Latino clients started their road towards deportation from a traffic stop. In most cases, there was no traffic sanction imposed on the clients and the stated reason for the initial detention seems but a pretext for stopping clients for being brown or Latino."