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Guest Columnist – The Supreme Court Just Gave Racism the Weight of Law

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by our guest columnists do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of this publication.

Marta Loachamin

Boulder County Commissioner
Member of the National Association of Hispanic County Officials

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As we celebrate Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month during September 15th-October 15th, many may have missed the implications of a recent national court case: The Supreme Court has functionally legalized racial profiling. In practical terms, this means Latino communities—one of the largest demographic and economic forces in this country—can now legally be treated as suspects simply for “looking” Latino.  This ruling isn’t an abstraction. It’s a permission slip for harassment, wrongful detention, and racially motivated violence. A license to instill fear.

Across the nation, millions of Latinos will feel the consequences of this decision in their daily lives: At traffic stops, in airports, at grocery stores, and in classrooms.  When I was a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, I experienced violent racism for the first time: A young man spit in my face and told me to go back to Mexico. He didn’t know me or ask where I was from. He simply saw brown skin and assumed. That’s racial profiling.

The Supreme Court Just Gave Racism the Weight of Law

Years later, in my work serving 330,000 residents of Boulder County, I still hear stories that echo that same ugliness—neighbors intimidated for speaking Spanish, families afraid to report harassment, and parents anxious that their children will be targeted on their way to school. These are not isolated incidents. They are the living consequences of a culture that continues to see Latinos as outsiders.

The Supreme Court’s ruling has now given that racial profiling, a form of racism, the weight of law. The National Association of Hispanic County Officials (NAHCO), which I recently joined, responded to the decision with clarity and conviction: “As a national organization of local Latino leaders, we believe that everyone is entitled to due process, that the Constitution should be upheld by the government, and that justice must be applied equally to all.” That statement is a reminder of what is at stake: The United States is being tested. Will we stand by the promise that all people are equal under the law, or will we allow fear and prejudice to become legal standards of suspicion?

The Supreme Court Just Gave Racism the Weight of Law

Here in Colorado, we can’t afford to look away. The same forces that embolden racial profiling nationally are present in our own backyard. We need leadership that reflects our diversity, defends our rights, and rejects discrimination in every form. I joined NAHCO to work with local leaders across the country who are committed to equity and accountability. My goal is to ensure that our elected officials—from county boards to the State Capitol—understand the danger of normalized bias and work to protect the safety, equality, and dignity of every Latino in this state.

Representation isn’t just about who sits at the table. It’s about whose humanity is promoted when decisions are made. The Supreme Court may have opened the door to racial profiling, but that doesn’t mean we have to walk through it. Colorado can choose to be a place where justice isn’t a slogan, but a lived reality. The promise of the United States of America can’t coexist with the permission to profile its people, and we don’t need the Supreme Court’s permission to be better than their rulings. I hope you will join me in condemning racial profiling and violence.