Thread: NC: Dis is da yr

Paul Cuadros
They started buzzing in soon after midnight on the echoes of soft fireworks in the distance. They came in the most preferred way that young people these days like to communicate -- texting.

"Prospero Ano Nuevo Coach!" and "Happy New Year!" They were from my former soccer players long graduated from high school and out in the real world checking in with me. Some were in college and others were simply working and hoping to go to school some day. Some were married with kids and others still looking for love. Many of the messages were just salutations excited about the New Year. But others wrote a little more. "Dis is da yr!" and "09 Si se puede! (Yes, we can!)" I knew what they meant instantly.

For Latinos all over the Triangle there is newfound hope in the coming year. Many are looking at '09 as the year the doors open and allow them to fulfill their dreams and end their nightmares.

2008 was a disastrous year for Latinos in North Carolina. The crackdown by local communities led to a state of fear for many. Spearheaded by the institution of 287 (g), a program that gives local authorities some ability to enforce federal immigration law, Latinos in the counties where the program was instituted found themselves living in perpetual fear.

Latinos, whether they were immigrants, illegal immigrants, or U.S. citizens, were on guard for being profiled by local law enforcement and asked to produce their papers. In Alamance County, a flier was circulated and posted in Latino neighborhoods mimicking a 19th century abolitionist flier warning Latinos not to trust the police.

Latinos in Chatham County and Orange County began to avoid traveling through Alamance County because of 287 (g). Many now no longer shop at the outlet stores in Alamance County for fear of passing through a driver's license checkpoint. Having passed through several of these checkpoints and asked to produce a driver's license made me wonder what happened to America and being in a free country. This is not occupied France where someone in a uniform asks for your papers just because they want to know.

And last year saw the state take a step backward and close its doors to higher education for undocumented students who wanted to attend community college. Many of the kids who texted me celebrating the New Year saw their dreams slammed shut as they prepared to go to school. After speaking with several community college presidents from around the state, they want to know why their institutions are being unfairly singled out for this kind of ban. They want their doors open to everybody.

But while 2008 was a bad year for Latinos at a local level, on a national level it may turn out to have been good. The election of Barack Obama as president brings great hope for many of these Latino kids. They know it. Many of them even worked hard to achieve it. They are looking to Obama to change and reform immigration and its enforcement. They are looking for him to carve a path out of the forest and into the valley to join the greater village.

We are just beginning this New Year and it will be many days before we can see if a foot trail is being created out of the immigration forest we have been in. The kids are optimistic. They want their lives to go forward. They want to go to school and contribute in better ways to our society. And so do I. But I am more cautious. Promises made during an election year are quickly forgotten. We have seen this issue left behind too many times. But it is the New Year and a time to be optimistic. I think I will keep those text messages and store them on my phone. And when things get a little rough in the coming year, I'll pull them out and read them again. "Dis is da yr!" and "Si se puede!"

Contact Paul Cuadros at pcuadros@mindspring.com

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/news/story/35199.html

We need to start asking these newspapers why they print these racist diatribes from the brown supremacists.

This article follows their motto of "For LaRaza everything, for those not LaRaza nothing".

I am always happy to show my license when I am asked, as many stores where I use a credit card just want to verify I am the same person as the name on the card. For these Latinos to fear license checkpoints means that they are probably driving without a license, insurance and probably using stolen plates. If they have a license and are still too afraid to drive to a county with 287g, it probably means the license is fraudulent. Whatever the circumstance, Mr. Cuadros has made a strong case that these folks are here illegally.

They are hanging all their hopes on Obama hoping he will override the decisions of countless cities, counties, and states!

W

One disturbing thing I heard today from my friend who lives near some illegals is that many illegals in NC are going to Maryland and gettting drivers' licenses since NC has cracked down. The illegal told him the Maryland license would be good for five years and that many illegals in NC are going there when they can no longer renew in NC.

Having passed through several of these checkpoints and asked to produce a driver's license made me wonder what happened to America and being in a free country.

I've been through a lot of these checkpoints during my life and I've never felt like my freedoms were being infringed upon. Is it to much to ask that folks operating vehicles on our roadways be legal drivers?

Originally Posted by hattiecat

One disturbing thing I heard today from my friend who lives near some illegals is that many illegals in NC are going to Maryland and gettting drivers' licenses since NC has cracked down. The illegal told him the Maryland license would be good for five years and that many illegals in NC are going there when they can no longer renew in NC.

Believe me, Marylanders know they are here. The lines wrap around the buldings.

Originally Posted by hattiecat

One disturbing thing I heard today from my friend who lives near some illegals is that many illegals in NC are going to Maryland and gettting drivers' licenses since NC has cracked down. The illegal told him the Maryland license would be good for five years and that many illegals in NC are going there when they can no longer renew in NC.

Are they getting licenses in MD and coming back to NC or moving to MD?

The illegals are getting the licenses in elsewhere and coming back to NC from what I understand.