This morning, on my way to work, I got pulled over.

No flashing. No racing. Just a regular morning.

I wasn’t speeding—at least not to my knowledge. I wasn’t weaving or driving erratically. I was just... existing.

When I calmly asked the officer why I was being pulled over, he looked at me and said coldly, “I’ll tell you after you give me your license and registration.”

No explanation. No decency. Just power.

And in that moment, my anger bubbled up—not because I feared a ticket, but because I felt what this really was.

So I asked, “Are you just checking if I have the little star on my license?”

That star.

The Real ID star.

The one that says, “Yes, officer, I belong here.”

Because in 2025 America, apparently our right to drive, exist, or move freely now comes with a symbol.

He snapped back: “What did you say?”

His tone was sharp. Threatening. Like I had just triggered something in him.

And in that split second, I felt the danger of my words.

So I swallowed my rage.

I said nothing.

I looked for my documents.

Because even though I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, I knew exactly what could happen if I kept speaking.

He came back a few minutes later and suddenly—miraculously—I had been speeding. No radar mentioned. No explanation. Just a convenient excuse and a verbal warning.

This wasn’t a routine traffic stop.

This was a fishing expedition.

A “let’s see what I can find out about her” moment.

And it was terrifying.

I can’t stop thinking about how many people—immigrants, people of color, women, anyone who “looks like they don’t belong”—are having encounters like this every single day. How many are being silenced, humiliated, or threatened just for existing behind the wheel. How often “protect and serve” turns into “profile and provoke.”

I’m still angry.

But more than that—I’m afraid.

Afraid of how normalized this is becoming.

Afraid of how easily I could’ve been written off, arrested, or worse if I hadn’t chosen silence in that moment.

These are dangerous times in the United States—especially for immigrants of color.

And if we don’t speak up, if we don’t tell our stories, they get to write the narrative.

Not today.#MyStoryMatters #immigrantvoices #thisisameri #thisisamericatoo #unapologeticallyme #everydayresistance #speaktruth #powerinstorytelling #webelong #IAmNotAlone