Immigrants 'afraid' to report crimes

[Roon]

When Andrea Lopez's husband and son came home with red welts on their bodies after young thugs shot them with a BB gun in their southwest Denver neighborhood, the first thing she wanted to do was call police.But her husband quickly changed her mind.

"He said he hadn't gotten a good look at the boys who shot him and my son, and that police would want him to identify them," she said.

But Lopez said that wasn't the real reason they didn't want the cops involved.

The Lopezes are illegal immigrants. They were afraid to come in contact with authorities for fear of being deported.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14634324/

[Poll_Blind]

1. Minorities in America (regardless of their legal status) should work...

...together with each other to help ensure their own protection through activism. For instance, blacks make up about 10% of my community, Latinos 10-15% (some wiggle room because of the undocumented) and, IIRC, Asians around 5%. Each of these groups has come under some form of attack in my community. I'm hoping, someday, someone (or my own, inexperienced, untrained self) will help these segments of the population realize that individually they represent very small groups but together, as a bloc, could work not only to ensure their own group interests but the interests of the other groups as well so as to strengthen and pursue the interests and safety of them all.

PB