The Risk of Speaking Spanish in Public

"Veronica was born in California into a family with roots in Mexico. She flies the American flag outside her home on national holidays, and proudly belts out "The Star-Spangled Banner" with her hand over her heart at sporting events. Sitting in the bleachers at her son's baseball game last month, Veronica started chatting with another mom in Spanish. Then she stopped and looked around, wondering if other parents might suspect that the women were undocumented and report them to immigration authorities."

"Two weeks ago, after watching immigration agents arrest and kill U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, she talked with her 14-year-old son about how he should behave if law enforcement asked whether he was in the country legally. If it happened when they were together, she told him, agents would be more likely to focus on her because of her darker complexion. "I'm a U.S. citizen," she reminded him. "You're going to see me again.""

"Similar conversations are taking place around the country in group chats, classrooms, churches, and at dinner tables among American-born Latinos who feel powerless amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. They are scared of being detained or mistakenly deported, and are contending with their identity and place in a country whose highest court has given permission to agents to use a person's race, ethnicity, or accent as a factor in immigration stops."

A U.S.-born Latina named Veronica openly displays patriotism yet hesitated to speak Spanish in public for fear of immigration scrutiny. After agents arrested and killed U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, she counseled her 14-year-old son on how to behave if questioned by law enforcement, believing agents would target her darker complexion. Similar conversations are occurring nationwide among American-born Latinos who fear detention or mistaken deportation. Many feel less safe, report worsening circumstances, and are changing habits by carrying proof of citizenship and advising family members on interactions with authorities amid permissive racial and linguistic profiling.

Read at The Atlantic