Sober Immigrants Fear DUI Checkpoints
By: Gerri L. Elder
Since Congress has failed to pass any type of comprehensive immigration reform package, it seems that states and federal immigration officials have been winging it on their own.
Many states have introduced immigration legislation of their own and there are increasing reports of various local law enforcement agencies working in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the Department of Homeland Security.
The WHQR Public Newsroom reported that a recent DUI enforcement campaign in North Carolina had some unexpected and far-reaching side effects.
During the 'Booze it and Lose it' drunk driving campaign in North Carolina, many Hispanic workers decided to stay home rather than drive. That's not to say that they were intoxicated. Their reason for avoiding the roadways involved immigration laws rather than DUI law enforcement.
Since some police officers in North Carolina are now allowed to enforce immigration laws, many Hispanic workers felt that it would be too risky to pass through a DUI checkpoint due to racial profiling.
Amnesty International USA has compiled data that shows how individual states deal with the issue of racial profiling. In 26 states, there are currently no laws that explicitly prohibit racial profiling. North Carolina happens to be one of those states.
Since many Hispanic workers did not report to work on August 8, 2008 due to the fear of racial profiling, many businesses were forced to operate with limited staffs.
Carlos Siercke from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce says that the Hispanic community in North Carolina feels persecuted. He also believes that the fear of racial profiling will have an economic impact on North Carolina because businesses that rely on Hispanic workers will have to pay other workers overtime or hire other workers to cover the shifts during DUI crackdowns.
Don Nail, the assistant director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program in North Carolina, says that the Hispanic people who stayed home from work during the DUI stings have overreacted. Nail insists that the drunken driving campaign's sole purpose is to target drunk drivers. He says that Hispanic people are not targeted and immigrants should not be afraid to go to work.
Still, in today's political climate, we hear almost daily reports of aggressive immigration law enforcement. Given these circumstances, Nail's reassurances do not mean much to the Hispanic immigrants who live and work in North Carolina.