A reader comments: “I’m certain Puerto Ricans aren’t fearing profiling, so “Hispanics” is a misnomer. Mexicans and El Salvadorans don’t constitute the entire group of hispanics. Also, since they’re interviewing an 18-year-old high school student (for this article), even though he may be legal, I’m betting his parents are not, and that’s the real issue. I find it amusing the basis for his being pulled over is being “hispanic”, when he admits that many of the friends he hangs out with are illegals. Of course, the fact he hangs with illegals and looks like them can’t be the reason for being pulled over, right?” — Z
Arodi Berrelleza isn’t one of the targets of Arizona’s new law cracking down on illegal immigration — he’s a U.S. citizen, a high school student from Phoenix.
But the 18-year-old said he’s afraid he’ll be arrested anyway if police see him driving around with friends and relatives, some of them illegal immigrants.
“If a cop sees them and they look Mexican, he’s going to stop me,” Berrelleza said. “What if people are U.S. citizens? They’re going to be asking them if they have papers because of the color of their skin.”
Berrelleza’s concerns were echoed by Hispanics across the state Saturday, a day after Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill that requires police to question people about their immigration status — including asking for identification — if they suspect someone is in the country illegally.
The new law, which will take effect in late July or early August, was cheered by many, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose tough crackdowns have made him a hero in the anti-illegal immigration community. He said it gives him new authority to detain undocumented migrants who aren’t accused of committing any other crimes.
“Now if we show they’re illegal, we can actually arrest them and put them in our jails,” Arpaio said.