PART ONE: Is racism against Hispanics growing in East Tennessee?

by Yvette Martinez

The census estimates half of Tennessee's population growth this decade will be Hispanic. Some Hispanics believe racial tension is also growing.

Five years ago, American citizen Tom Mares moved his wife and three kids to East Tennessee.

"My kids had been in Texas their whole lives. I was ready to go out and do something different and experience a little more, give my kids a little more rounded idea of what's out there."

Tom's son, Tomas says moving to Tennessee was definitely an eye-opening experience.

"I thought it was a little different because in Texas, it was mostly Hispanic, but once we came to Tennessee, it was different cultures."

But once, when the family went out to eat, they felt different wasn't welcome. Tom says there were four waitresses and three tables with people to serve. However, he and his family waited 30 minutes without ever being approached. It made a lasting impression on Tomas, who was only 10 years old at the time.

"We sat there for a while. We ended up leaving, but they never came and served us," Tomas recalls.

Now 15 years old, Tomas says his time at school includes lessons in racial tension. He says non-Hispanic students tell his friends who don't speak English as well that they need to "go back."

Tomas is so frustrated with the incidents he has faced in local high school hallways that he asked his dad to move their family away from East Tennessee.

"I just want to feel accepted, so I want to graduate from a school where I feel like I'm liked by a lot of people."

This is a hard pill to swallow for Tom, an Air Force veteran and former Texas law enforcement officer. He says he would like to promote tolerance in Tennessee.

"If we leave, and I don't do what I can, I won't be able to sleep at night knowing I might have been able to do something for someone here in Tennessee," Tom said.

Tom is a translator for businesses, police and emergency personnel. He became a liason after a Blount County Mexican restaurant was vandalized with racial slurs.

"I thought it was time to go ahead and step in," Tom says.

But he says his efforts led to death threats against him and his family.

"I had one gentleman tell me that trying to make this a better place was the wrong place to do it," Tom says.

On the other hand, Tom's efforts made him a friend to immigrants, including Marlen*, a naturalized American citizen.

Marlen came to America illegally, determined to climb out of poverty.

"That's the reason everybody comes here, to find a new life."

Once in East Tennessee, Marlen applied for resident alien status, started working and paying taxes, and two years ago, became an American citizen.

"I think this is the land of opportunities. I really think it's the land of opportunities," says Marlen. "Doors are open. We just have to walk through them."

Marlen is now the co-owner of a local restaurant.
She loves East Tennessee, but worries racial tension is getting worse, fueled by language barriers.

"I think speaking English has helped. I feel that people who don't speak very much English experience (racism) a little bit more."

Marlen and Tom hope to bridge gaps and set an example for the next generation.

Although young Tomas feels rejected by some in East Tennessee, he doesn't believe that's a reflection on all Americans and the country he loves.

"I'm 100% percent American and proud of it," Tomas says.

*"Marlen" is an alias.


PART TWO: Hamblen County's large Hispanic population presents law enforcement challenge

by Anthony Welsch

Immigration is a hot topic, and for one Hamblen County family, it's become a highly personal issue.

In March, a pick-up truck driven by an undocumented driver ran a stop sign and pulled onto the Davy Crockett Parkway, smashing into a car carrying Debbie Phillips, her daughter, granddaughter, and two friends.

Today Debbie Phillips suffers memory loss and has ongoing eye problems.

The other driver went home with a ticket for running a stop sign and failure to have a driver's license.

Roger Phillips was shocked. He couldn't believe the illegal immigrant who hit his family wasn't taken to jail.

Hamblen County Sheriff Esco Jarnigan understands Roger Phillips frustration.

"America is like a ship," says Jarnigan. "You can only get so many on board and it's going to sink. We are filling up the ship."

Jarnigan says his community, with a large and growing Hispanic population is being "flooded by aliens."

The U.S. Census doesn't ask about citizenship status, so the agency's numbers combine both legal and illegal Hispanics. Data shows that the percentage of Hispanic residents in Hamblen County is now 27 times higher than it was in 1990. Today. 9.3% of the people living in Hamblen County are Hispanic -- three times the Tennessee average.

"It's very frustrating and I put blame where the blame is due. I blame the federal government," says Jarnagan.

The Sheriff says his department has a good relationship with federal immigration agents, but it's not enough; his officers are seeing crimes they haven't seen in years.

"(Illegal immigrants) can't furnish ID, so they can't buy alcohol or cigarettes," explains Jarnagan. "So we actually have a regression back to bootlegging."

Jarnagan wants more power for his officers to investigate and enforce immigration law. However, neither Morristown or Hamblen County have been accepted into the federal program that does out that authority.

So Hamblen County is trying a different approach, hoping to make three deputies into U.S. Marshals. Jarnagan says that would give those three deputies similar powers to immigration agents.

"It's unique in that it's something that has never been tried before," says Jarnagan.

Roger Phillips says he would support any steps to cut down on the number of people living illegally in Tennessee.

"It won't always be somebody like me that's coming in here saying we've had an accident and my wife got hurt," says Phillips. "Someday that's going to be yours; what are you going to do then?"


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