Undocumented Immigrants Fear Profiling at DUI Checkpoints
The trend of sobriety checkpoints appearing on the nation's roadways has sparked suspicion among some Hispanics. Stories of DUI roadblocks being used as a tool to detain illegal immigrants have swept through Hispanic communities and have even kept some people from driving to work or sending their children to school, opting to stay home where their immigration status won't be questioned.
Undocumented immigrants know that there may be life-changing consequences if they can't prove they're legally residing and working in the U.S. In some counties, if someone at a DUI checkpoint can't show proper driving credentials, which illegal immigrants don't typically have, he/she could be turned over to federal authorities and deported.
The increase in DUI checkpoints is partially a result of enforcement agencies participating in the Drunk Driving: Over the Limit. Under Arrest. campaign, which began Aug. 15 and will run through Labor Day. With a nation-wide increase in immigration raids, some people are skeptical about the intention of the checkpoints and believe they are being used as a tool to target Hispanics on their immigration status.
Backlash of DUI Checkpoints
Earlier this month, North Carolina kicked off its drunk-driving campaign, Booze It and Lose It, which results in statewide DUI checkpoints on certain days. As a result, Hispanic workers from all over the state chose to stay home from work for fear of encountering a roadblock and facing an immigration officer, according to WHRQ, a North Carolina non-profit radio station affiliated with National Public Radio and Public Radio International.
Carlos Siercke, director of the state's Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told the reporter he thinks losing those workers hurt businesses. "It will have an economic impact, businesses will have to pay extra, double shift, extra time to employees in this difficult economy. And I think the Hispanic community feels persecution," Siercke told the radio station.
Don Nail, assistant director of North Carolina Governor's highway safety program, told the station he thought people overreacted since the campaign focused on curbing drinking and driving, not on rounding up illegal Hispanic workers.
Nonetheless, there may be real reason for concern. Alamance county is among the North Carolina counties participating in Booze It and Lose It and is one of eight counties in the state that has signed a cooperative agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agreement, known as the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows designated state and local law enforcement officers to perform immigration enforcement functions.
This means that select state and local police officers may arrest individuals who they determine violate immigration laws. This is a major factor to why undocumented immigrants seek the protection of their houses when they get word of a DUI roadblock day.
The Constitutionality of Checkpoints
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a search or seizure is unconstitutional unless there is individualized suspicion of unlawful activity; however, it made exceptions for "suspicionless seizures" at roadblocks to intercept illegal aliens and DUI checkpoints.
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