Hispanics wary of fallout from deadly crash in Virginia Beac

[Jean]

Hispanics wary of fallout from deadly crash in Virginia Beach
By GILLIAN GAYNAIR, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 7, 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH - Because one Hispanic person is accused of causing a tragic accident, Monica Restrepo said, she now frets that many will be judged and be the brunt of insults.

"We're very worried about what's going to happen to all of us in the community," said Restrepo, who owns the decade-old La Tapatia, believed to be one of the first Latin American grocery stores in the city.

Restrepo and other local Hispanics this week expressed their sympathy for the families of two Virginia Beach girls killed in a car crash March 30. But they also couldn't mask their concern over a possible backlash against both legal and illegal immigrants.

They fear that because of Alfredo Ramos, people will categorize all Hispanics as drunken drivers and unauthorized immigrants. Ramos, 22, is charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Alison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16. He had a record of three alcohol-related convictions in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake and had entered the country from Mexico illegally.

Many Hispanics said the public response to the incident has been incorrectly centered on Ramos' immigration status instead of on drunken-driving laws and penalties.

"When someone has committed a crime, it doesn't matter what legal status they have, what ethnic group - you've committed a crime," said Mavel Velasco Muñoz, chairwoman of the Hispanic Leadership Forum of Hampton Roads. "We are not condoning it," but, she said, the public is wrongly lumping together immigration issues and DUI laws.

Beatriz Amberman, a Virginia Beach resident and vice chairwoman of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, agreed.

"I wonder how many people are driving under the influence of alcohol and have been let go with a slap on the hand... and whether the system is actually working in that regard," she said. "Rather than that... because of this one individual, we're judging all undocumented workers."

The tragedy gained national attention Wednesday through Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," when host Bill O'Reilly blamed the city of Virginia Beach and accused local officials of providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants. O'Reilly and TV personality Geraldo Rivera traded verbal punches on Thursday (video).

Locally, rumors swirled Friday among some Hispanics that federal immigration authorities were coming to Virginia Beach to raid establishments that employ illegal immigrants.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington said that such rumors are no t surprising, given the amount of attention the Ramos case has received.

"I can't tell you that no investigation is going on, because that's something we do on a daily basis," Ernestine Fobbs said. "I can't confirm or deny whether we have an active investigation going on at this time. It's not something that we'd reveal."

Ramos had worked briefly at Mi Casita restaurant on Bonney Road, according to Gary C. Byler, an attorney representing El Toro Loco Inc., the corporation that owns Mi Casita. Byler said Ramos was told not to come back to work when his documents appeared to be invalid. He was not working at the restaurant at the time of the car crash, Byler said.

It wasn't unusual to see Ramos and other employees walking along Bonney Road and visiting establishments in Thalia Village Shoppes, business owners there said.

In the week after the car crash, there has been less foot traffic overall, said Junior Garcia, who owns La Tienda International Foods and Mi Tierra Restaurant.

Garcia said that since the incident, he has also noticed more police in the area and suspected that "we'll probably have more police officers stopping Latinos on looks."

Like others, Garcia was concerned about the response to the tragedy.

"I haven't heard once that it was an accident," he said. "White people also drink. I feel people have blown out of proportion his status and where he's from. It could have been anybody."

While he and his friends talked about the Ramos case at Mi Orgullo Latin Accessories in the same plaza, Jonathan Rodriguez wondered whether there would be such a public outcry had an intoxicated white citizen been accused in the girls' deaths.

"Now they want to punish every Latin person out there," he said. "Now it's going to be harder for us.... You could be a citizen, but they're still going to hate you."

Local Hispanic leaders say they hope to turn the tragedy into an opportunity to educate more people about the dangers of drunken driving, push for tougher penalties for it and work for immigration laws that can be respected as fair.

Amberman, of the Coalition of Latino Organizations, said she is worried that "people want to look at only one side of the picture."

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.c ... 97&tref=po

[SOSADFORUS]

[quote]They fear that because of Alfredo Ramos, people will categorize all Hispanics as drunken drivers and unauthorized immigrants. Ramos, 22, is charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Alison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16. He had a record of three alcohol-related convictions in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake and had entered the country from Mexico illegally. [/quote

So now they are unauthorized immigrants, how many different ways can they come up to refer to illegal aliens.

This also is what happens when the news does not report the other cases of people being killed by illegals, they all act as if this is the first case!! give us a break!!!

[JAK]

This is also what happens when our government DOES NOT enforce our immigration laws.

If you are legal...you have NOTHING to worry about.
If you are illegal...then you deserve the right to go home and NOTHING MORE!

Its not about drunk drivers ONLY. Its about illegals driving drunk on our roads and highways that SHOULD NOT BE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!

[dragonfire]

I still say, a class action lawsuit against the local and federal government by all injured or their families would draw the necessary action to get something done. If the government wants to protect and ignore their illegal status let the government pay the cost in judgments for their crimes.

[gofer]

If a person had escaped from jail, drove drunk and killed somebody, would they IGNORE the fact he should have been in jail and not on the streets? The illegal alien drunk should NOT have been in the country much less on the streets! You can't ignore the fact that this man should have been deported and you can no way relate this to a citizen killing someone driving drunk. There was an opportunity to PREVENT this tragedy and they FAILED!

[SOSADFORUS]

If a person had escaped from jail, drove drunk and killed somebody, would they IGNORE the fact he should have been in jail and not on the streets? The illegal alien drunk should NOT have been in the country much less on the streets! You can't ignore the fact that this man should have been deported and you can no way relate this to a citizen killing someone driving drunk. There was an opportunity to PREVENT this tragedy and they FAILED!

They are saving the jail space for U.S. citizens

[2ndamendsis]

Restrepo and other local Hispanics this week expressed their sympathy for the families of two Virginia Beach girls killed in a car crash March 30. But they also couldn't mask their concern over a possible backlash against both legal and illegal immigrants.

If they were so WORRIED, why aren't they standing up and DEMANDING ILLEGALS be removed from their communities???

That's a cop out. No different than the muslims who REFUSE to condem the radical terrorists.

Is this a RACE issue? Are they sticking together solely due to race?
Are they loyal only to hispanics and American community be damned?

I find their comments insulting and completely devoid of American Community Loyalty

And I certainly hope they get very afraid

[HOTCBNS]

Hispanics wary of fallout from deadly crash in Virginia Beach
By GILLIAN GAYNAIR, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 7, 2007


Local Hispanic leaders say they hope to turn the tragedy into an opportunity to educate more people about the dangers of drunken driving, push for tougher penalties for it and work for immigration laws that can be respected as fair.



http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.c ... 97&tref=po

Hispanics wary of fallout from deadly crash in Virginia Beach
By GILLIAN GAYNAIR, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 7, 2007


VIRGINIA BEACH - Because one Hispanic person is accused of causing a tragic accident

We're very worried about what's going to happen to all of us in the community," said Restrepo

MORE WORRIED ABOUT THEMSELVES THEN WORRYING FOR HOW THOSE FAMILIES WILL LIVE WITH THEIR LOSSES....

Many Hispanics said the public response to the incident has been incorrectly centered on Ramos' immigration status instead of on drunken-driving laws and penalties.

IT ISN'T THE LAWS NOR THE PENALTIES THAT CAUSED THE ACCIDENT
IT WAS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO IF JAILED OR DEPORTED TO BEGIN WITH THESE GIRLS WOULD NOT BE DEAD.

"When someone has committed a crime, it doesn't matter what legal status they have, what ethnic group - you've committed a crime," said Mavel Velasco Muñoz, chairwoman of the Hispanic Leadership Forum of Hampton Roads.
THIS IS TRUE WHEN YOU COMMIT A CRIME IT SHOULDN'T MATTER YOUR STATUS...SO WHY IS IT ? THAT EVERYONE ELSE THIS APPLIES TO... OTM..THEY GET A RIDE HOME

"Now they want to punish every Latin person out there," he said. "Now it's going to be harder for us.... You could be a citizen, but they're still going to hate you."

OH YES THE RACE CARD JUMPS IN HERE

Garcia said that since the incident, he has also noticed more police in the area and suspected that "we'll probably have more police officers stopping Latinos on looks."


Like others, Garcia was concerned about the response to the tragedy.

"I haven't heard once that it was an accident," he said. "White people also drink. I feel people have blown out of proportion his status and where he's from. It could have been anybody."

White people do drink...But this wasn't a white person... this was an illegal who committed a crime coming here illegally and 3 DUI'S... CITIZENS IN MOST PARTS OF THE COUNTRY GO TO JAIL, LOOSE THEIR LICENSE AND PAY HEAVY FINES, AND INSURANCE SURCHARGES THE FIRST TIME, AND IF NOT THE SECOND TIME THEY WILL.....

Amberman, of the Coalition of Latino Organizations, said she is worried that "people want to look at only one side of the picture."

HERE'S 2-SIDES....

1)ILLEGAL ALIEN IN THIS COUNTRY ILLEGALLY WITH 3 DUI'S
HISPANICS WORRIED HOW THIS WILL IMPACT THEM

2) YOUNG AMERICAN GIRLS DEAD BECAUSE HE WAS DRINKING AND DRIVING
FAMILIES HAVE TO LIVE WITHOUT EVER SEEING THEIR DAUGHTERS SMILE, MARRY, HAVE CHILDREN OR EVER HOLD THEM AGAIN

[2ndamendsis]

"I haven't heard once that it was an accident," he said. "White people also drink. I feel people have blown out of proportion his status and where he's from. It could have been anybody."

What the hell does WHITE have to do with this?

Last time I looked, I saw AMERICANS of every color, shape, size and eye shape!!!

What the hell does WHITE have to do with anything??

Racist little twit.

[SOSADFORUS]

"I haven't heard once that it was an accident," he said. "White people also drink. I feel people have blown out of proportion his status and where he's from. It could have been anybody."

What the hell does WHITE have to do with this?

Last time I looked, I saw AMERICANS of every color, shape, size and eye shape!!!

What the hell does WHITE have to do with anything??

Racist little twit.

YA! What a racist {mod edit} !!