The Traffic-Stop-to-Deportation Pipeline: Why Traffic Enforcement Has Become Immigration Enforcement

The United States has greatly expanded its deportation apparatus in the past 15 years primarily by enrolling local law enforcement agencies in federal immigration enforcement regimes. This means that routine interaction with law enforcement — often through traffic enforcement — has become one of the primary ways that immigrants are funneled into the deportation pipeline.

Immigration reporter Tanvi Misra (@Tanvim) discussed this issue in a very illustrative…