SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Racial Profiling in Los Angeles

Howdy, Meteor readers,

Apparently, today is National Hot Flash Day. So sorry I didn’t get anyone a gift, but you know, the holidays sneak up on you!

In today’s newsletter, we pull back the curtain on the Supreme Court’s latest decision. Plus, good news for parents in New Mexico and a chat about Tylenol.

Hot every day,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Something old, something new: On Monday, the Supreme Court overturned a lower-court order that had temporarily blocked federal agents from stopping people in Los Angeles to ask them about their citizenship status based on race or ethnicity; whether someone speaks in Spanish or with an accent; and their location or profession, the New York Times reports.

This means that, for the time being, anyone in LA who looks like they may be from another country can be stopped, questioned, and temporarily detained by a DHS officer without probable cause other than the color of their skin. All of this probably sounds vaguely familiar to you. Stop and frisk. Broken windows policing. Jim Crow. The Geary Act. All policies—from the 2000s, the ‘90s, and the late 1800s—that reflected this prejudiced thinking.

In her dissent of the Court’s ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, writes, “The Constitution does not permit the creation of such a second-class citizenship status.” (It once did—but that’s why we have amendments, at least on paper.) However, in practice, the U.S. has had a long-standing relationship with racial profiling, discrimination, and the silent assertion of a second class—it is possibly the most American characteristic there is. But something about how it’s being deployed here feels a bit different. Perhaps it’s how quickly it all seems to be happening, or the violent, militarized nature of it; there is something new in this old practice.

DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED NEAR GRANT PARK IN CHICAGO TO PROTEST DONALD TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES. (VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

“The Court’s order is troubling for another reason,” Sotomayor continues. “It is entirely unexplained.” The Supreme Court justices who issued the majority judgment gave no reasoning for why they overturned the original lower court order. (Meanwhile, Sotomayor’s dissent is 21 pages.)

Perhaps that’s what feels novel: the blatant shamelessness with which discrimination is now enacted, despite all of our progress as a nation. There was a time when men convened in secret to plan and execute hateful acts. Now, extremists stroll through the White House in broad daylight, gleefully carrying out a supremacist agenda with the support of American voters. And not having to feel bad about it just fuels their now-unabashed ambition. So much so that the modern GOP is quite literally defending enslavement and trying to reshape how children learn America’s complete and despicable history.

You know what they say, those who can’t remember the past…

  AND: 

• News broke last week that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr. will soon announce that one of the potential causes of autism is the use of over-the-counter medications like Tylenol while pregnant. That’s especially alarming given that the drug has long been recommended as an alternative to Advil, which pregnant women can’t take. So what’s the truth? Several studies have investigated the effects of acetaminophen on fetal development, and while some have turned up potential links to neurodevelopmental issues, others have turned up no negative indications. (You can read a helpful rundown of the research here.) Meanwhile, you know what’s definitely not safe for a developing fetus? A fever. Untreated high fevers can cause premature birth, low birth weight, and birth defects. So consult your doctor, and don’t forget to salute RFK’s reverence for tradition: There is no more time-honored practice than blaming the mom.

• But wait! We’re here to renew your faith in (checks notes) government. Starting in November, New Mexico will be the first state to offer free early childhood education to every citizen, regardless of family income. And the news actually gets better: the state will also be implementing financial incentives to daycare providers who agree to pay their staff at least $18 an hour, a five-dollar bump from the state’s minimum wage.
• In less positive news, Trump targeted journalist Yamiche Alcindor after she asked him about an incendiary social media post in which he appeared to threaten war with the city of Chicago:

• What does it cost to “save money on Medicaid,” as so many politicians are promising to do while working with the limitations of the Big Beautiful Bill? Well, according to Michael Kinnucan at The Intercept, “If you want to save money, you need to deny healthcare to sick people.” Kinnucan digs into what we can anticipate from a post-BBB health system.

• There’s a new Girl Scout cookie!!!! But will it be better than Trefoils? (Never.)

• Actor Morgan Spector (Train Daddy if you’re nasty) recently starred in an ad for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Playing his The Gilded Age character George Russell—an incredibly sexy robber-baron for those unfamiliar with the series—doesn’t just make for well-crafted political thirst-trap theater; it’s a pitch-perfect sendup of New York’s ultra-wealthy. Enjoy.

• This is the kind of activist journalism we need in our lives.

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