Luis Islas did everything right, but that didn’t protect him from racial profiling and harassment from law enforcement.
Luis’ parents are immigrants. Because of that, Luis and his family made the hard decision to move from Montana and Idaho to Minnesota, a state with better protections for immigrants. After moving Luis began to work for the University of Minnesota Duluth as the senior director of development, a job that requires frequent travel around the state and country to meet with donors. In March, the job sent Luis to Texas.
Like most people who travel for work, Luis had a plan: fly from Duluth to MSP, fly from MSP to Houston, grab the suitcase from baggage claim, pick-up the rental car, drive to the hotel and stop for dinner on the way.
Luis was eight minutes from his hotel, his mind on what to get for dinner, when he saw flashing lights behind him.
"My first thought was, 'oh, they're probably pulling me over because I was going slower than I'm supposed to go on the highway,'" said Luis. "So, I thought 'this is going to be an easy explanation for them.' I've never been here; they'll be more than understanding. But that wasn't the case."
After pulling into a Walmart parking lot and rolling his window down, the police officer informed Luis that he was stopped because the officer ran the plates and nothing came back. Luis quickly explained that the car was a rental and based on the odometer, it was very new.
Despite Luis' explanation, the officer asked to search the car.
"I knew that I could have declined it," said Luis, "but in my head I thought, 'I have nothing in the car but my luggage in the backseat and my work backpack in the front seat. This is going to be really quick, especially if I'm compliant and agreeable.'" So, Luis agreed to get out of the car.
After stepping out of the car, forgetting his phone and wallet in the process, Luis was asked to sit in the back of the squad car. From there, Luis watched as four more officers arrived and together, they pulled everything out of his suitcase and backpack, spreading each item out on the pavement.
While all of Luis' possessions and work files were still on the ground, the officer informed Luis that he called in K9s and a tow truck to lift the car because he suspected Luis was trying to hide something. He then had Luis get out of the car to be handcuffed. The officer pushed Luis against the car, splitting his lip, then returned him to the backseat. When Luis asked to speak with his attorney he was ignored.
As Luis watched the search of the rental car continue, he thought, "I have a wife and a baby at home – I have a little girl – and my wife is waiting for me to text her when I get to the hotel."
After the dogs arrived and the car was lifted enough to see its undercarriage, the officer told Luis that a hidden compartment had been discovered, that they found bags of white powder and learned that the car had been made in Mexico. He then asked Luis is he had a relationship with the Mexican cartel.
At that moment Luis had the sinking feeling that he was about to be arrested. "But then I realized, I didn't have bail money," said Luis. "The only money we had was set aside for a new house that we were about to buy."
Again, Luis asked to speak with his attorney but was denied.
Luis continued to sit in the back of the squad car until suddenly, another officer arrived and asked Luis all the same questions he had answered over and over: who are you? Why are you here? How long have you had this car?
When the questioning was done, the new officer decided to confiscate the car and told Luis he would be dropped off at his hotel.
"It seemed like such an abrupt end," said Luis. "As I was getting loaded up into the new vehicle to be driven to the hotel, I saw all the officers joking with each other and having a grand old time."
Luis couldn't sleep that night for fear that the police were going to change their minds and arrest him. He wanted to return to Minnesota immediately, but he decided to rent another car and attend his donor meetings.
"I'm a big believer in standing and walking in your power, even when terrified," said Luis. "I knew I couldn’t just live in fear, so I said, 'I'm going to finish all of my visits with all of my donors even though it's so hard to focus, and then I'll go home.'"
The next morning, Luis returned to the rental car company to explain the situation and get a new car. It was a rental car employee, not a police officer, who first told Luis, "I’m so sorry this happened to you." That employee also assured Luis that law enforcement in the area should know that when a rental vehicle is brand new, it takes a while to register properly. The car Luis had been driving was made in February 2025.
It has been weeks since the arrest. Luis and his wife have now bought a house in Duluth and are moved into it, but Luis still continues to think about his experience in Texas.
"I was under the false impression that if I was compliant, if I just tried to do everything that I could to balance out complicity and also my rights that I was safe," said Luis. "And the fact of the matter is I wasn't. And If I wasn't safe, there's so many people that aren't going to be so lucky. And to call my experience 'lucky' is absurd, because I'm going to have to deal with the aftermath of this event for years."
