By Elizabeth Beresford
Cineo Gonzalez is a married father of two who has lived in Birmingham for more than 10 years. He chose to live in Alabama because he wanted a safe community in which to raise his 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. A lawfully present immigrant, Gonzalez works as a taxi driver.
Before the enactment of H.B. 56, Gonzalez mostly drove people between their homes and the airport. Since the law took effect on Sept. 28, families who are fleeing the state in fear of H.B. 56 have been asking him to drive them as far as New York and Indiana. These families have no other choice but to flee by car, because air and rail travel identification requirements might ensnare undocumented families with law enforcement. Gonzalez likened these out-of-state trips to the Underground Railroad, saying many families are heading north because there's more acceptance of immigrants there.
Gonzalez told me one family called him at 2 a.m. asking him to pick them up from the side of the road. Carrying only two suitcases and plastic garbage bags filled with belongings, the father wanted to leave immediately because he feared he was being followed by police. Enforcement of the law has led to this kind of widespread paranoia and panic. One woman in Russellville told me that she feels like she's being watched every time she walks down the street or goes into the grocery store. She feels her lawful presence is constantly questioned by those around her.
Shortly after the law went into effect, Gonzalez’s daughter and another Latino student in her 1st grade class were singled out by the school as targets of the new law. In front of the entire class, they were handed know-your-rights documents to give to their parents. In other classes, Latino children were pulled out of class and given the document. This kind of racial profiling is rampant throughout the Alabama school system.
The next day, when Gonzalez asked a school official why his daughter was given the paper, she explained they were giving it to “all children who aren’t from here.”
Mr. Gonzalez’s daughter was born in Alabama. When I visited the family, the first question she asked me was, “Are you an Auburn or a “Bama fan?” (asking my preference of college football teams). She loves to play soccer, is a star student and can’t wait to be a Good Witch for Halloween.