Fifth Generation

My brother, who recently returned to the USA from St. Petersburg, Russia, tells me that Russia is really strict about illegal immigration. Whenever they would go to the subway or the train the policemen would check your passport. They regularly checked passports of people who looked dark or brown skinned. Russia had a problem with people from other former Soviet Republics like Georgia and Uzbekistan working in Russia illegally.  Trains, subways, and buses are regular places that the Russian police check to make sure you are legally in Russia.

Brown skinned people had a difficult time and were usually harrassed. My brother said that even Americans who were of Italian or Spanish ancestory would be stopped often. My brother has fair skin and light colored hair, so he was not stopped a lot and had an easier time traveling around the city.

In America, that practice would be illegal and called racial profiling. I wonder if that would help to stop terrorism and illegal immigration in the US. When I was in NYC, I remember that issue being debated. Most people were against it because they thought it would slow down subway service. Since police cannot racially profile, they would  have to stop grandmothers and women pushing strollers. I personally do not see checking ID or passports working in an American city. Maybe it would work if they only did it in certain areas of Queens or Brooklyn. However, if a man of any ethnic background was entering the subway station wearing a heavy coat on a hot day, I hope the cops will stop him and question him. I wouldn’t mind them asking for someone who looks illegal. Heck, they have my permission to check my ID if I look illegal.

What do you think about checking passports of train and subway passengers like they do in Russia? Would that sort of thing work in America?