Amy Tan has a message for racists

WARNING! Harsh language ahead!

TWO AMERICAN women were waiting in line at a gas station to buy eggs and milk when a Border Patrol agent asked them for their ID's and questioned them for 40 minutes.

What were they doing to warrant this interrogation? They were speaking Spanish.

Ana Suda and her friend are furious at the encounter that occurred in Montana.  What's infuriating is that it's lentirely legal.

Although the practice is more common near the border with Mexico, ICE gents have the power to stop anyone they suspect is in this country without documentation if they are within 100 miles of any border. In this case, the border in question is the one shared with Canada, which was 35 miles away.

Legal or not, Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan thought the agent's actions and the fear that foreign languages stirs up with monolingual Americans was out of line and not in the tradition of our country's values.

She used social media to convey her video message in Spanish (except for the two last words.) She also provided a translation:

After a few responses from people who were offended by her use of street language, Tan followed up with this message:

The women spoke Spanish, but it could just as well have been Tagalog, Cantonese, Vietnamese or any one of the scores of languages used in Asia. The incident occurred in Montana but it could just as well have happened in Buffalo, NY, or San Diego. Technically, the East and West coasts are borders so ICE could argue that rule might applies to New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston and and a host of other coastal cities.

Note tin the CNN interview above that Suda says an agent told her that Canadians speaking French are not stopped and questioned by ICE. Clearly, a case of racial profiling.

How in the world did ICE get this Gestapo-like authority?  Apparently, the Supreme Court, dominated by Republican-nominated justices, approved the law. See what happens when we're not paying attention?

Instead of being offended by two words - no matter how harsh - Americans should be offended by the actions of ICE.
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