In 2015, Julio, a Black Dominican immigrant living in New York City, was stopped by police for “walking suspiciously.” It was the tail end of the stop and frisk era, the notoriously racist policing strategy that subjected Black people to a vastly disproportionate percentage of police stops in the city. This article follows Julio’s story from incarceration to immigration detention and outlines potential solutions for people who find themselves in situations similar to Julio’s.
