In Arizona, Immigrants Make Plans in Shadows

Several states have similar harsh laws, Pres. Obama says he will get immigration reform at the beginning of his next term. We certainly need it!  - - Donna Poisl

By FERNANDA SANTOS

PHOENIX — Miguel Guerra has a wife, three children and a house. He has a car, but no driver’s license. He has business cards, but no immigration papers. He got into the habit of keeping his cellphone close when he drives so he can quickly call a cousin, the only legal resident among his relatives in the United States, in case he gets pulled over.

If he does not call again within an hour, he said, the cousin knows to look for him at the county jail.

Mr. Guerra, 36, moved here 13 years ago, before Arizona made illegal immigrants a target, turning once mundane tasks like driving to the grocery into a roll of the dice. Protesting the state’s strict immigration laws “hasn’t changed anything,” he said, so one recent evening he took a more pragmatic approach. He filled out an affidavit designating his cousin to care for his children, his money, his house and everything else he owns should he be arrested.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/us/arizona-illegal-immigrants-adapt-to-a-crackdown.html?_r=1
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