Undocumented immigrant says SB 1070 'needed to happen'
Reported by: Rudabeh Shahbazi
Email: RShahbazi@abc15.com
Last Update: 5/03 6:41 am



PHOENIX-- A man who admits he has been living illegally in the United States for 15 years says the new immigration bill isn't all bad.

"My first reaction was, I'm scared, because now even a little fender bender is going to put me at risk," said the man, who goes by "Luis."

"That's the first reaction. But in the back of my head, I knew that something has to happen."

Luis has been in the country since he was 13 years old. He disagrees with the thousands of Hispanics who call Senate Bill 1070 "racial profiling."

"I like to think that there's more people that are going to use it the right way," he said. "If somebody commits a crime and they're going out of the law, that they [law enforcement officers] are going to use that-- not just stopping anybody."

Luis said he feels federal reform needs to take place before SB 1070 goes into effect. He referred to temporary work programs, better border security and ways to establish residency for people who have been in the country, stayed out of trouble and paid taxes for the majority of their lives.

"When this first happened, the whole thing started to get bigger and bigger, and I thought, well, here we go," said Luis. "This is what needed to happen for people to say, we do have a problem here."

Luis said the problem isn't the hardworking people who come the United States for better lives, but those who come here to commit crimes after crossing the border.

He and his wife, who is also undocumented, said they have tried to go through the process of establishing residency multiple times, but have been told by lawyers they don't have much of a chance, and that they can expect deportation letters.

Luis said he loves the United States more than his home country because he has been here for so long, but that he and his wife have faced hurdles in their progress.

His wife lost at least one job when her employer found out about her status, and they both hoped to continue their educations but were unable to.

Luis said he recognizes there is an immigration problem, and that if the only way to fix it is to deport people like him, that's a fact he has to face.

"We're just tired," he said. "We've been here for 15 years, and if they really don't want us here, then we'll go."


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