Those consequences can be immediate, like when immigrants are detained and deported after being racially profiled for stops based on their skin color, accent, or the kind of work they do (thank you, Kavanaugh stops). Or they can start small and get worse. You get a fine for a minor traffic infraction. If you can’t pay, you can end up in jail (thank you, de facto debtors' prisons) or with a suspended license. But if you couldn’t afford the fine, you probably can't afford to miss work or pay for an Uber to get your kid to school either. Drive anyway? That can end in arrest, too.
Worst of all, traffic stops can get people killed. Philando Castile, Walter Scott, and Tyre Nichols; all people who were killed by police during traffic stops. Just last year, Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by an ICE agent during one.
Intimately aware of all of the above and tired of watching their neighbors live in fear of being pulled over, a coalition called Decarcerate Memphis decided to do something about it. The intervention? Brake light clinics, where people can get broken taillights and brake lights fixed for free. Every month, Decarcerate Memphis sets up shop in a different neighborhood across the city, often partnering with other community organizations to drive turnout. And they are not the only ones stepping into this gap. The Democratic Socialists of America’s Gimme A Brake (Light) clinic is a program that trains chapters across the country to run clinics themselves. And organizations like Tampa’s Love Has No Borders have run a clinic specifically for immigrants, for whom any interaction with law enforcement can open a direct path to ICE custody.
Fixing a brake light doesn’t take much: around $20 for the bulb, a screwdriver and fifteen minutes time. But it can be the reason that a mom makes it home from pick-up without her kids witnessing her getting pulled out of the car. And when freedom is that straightforward, there’s no reason to leave it on the table.
