Latinos feel a tug on welcome mat

Changing attitudes noted at celebration

The traditional quinceanera is an elaborate party honoring a frilly-dressed Latina on her 15th birthday.

But the 15th Fiesta del Pueblo -- billed as the quinceanera for the annual celebration of Latino culture -- comes as few Hispanic North Carolinians are feeling honored.

Deportations, once reserved for a handful of hardened criminals, are becoming common after minor offenses. A recent move barring illegal immigrants from community colleges won praise from state politicians of both parties. And in counties such as Beaufort, in the eastern part of the state, local laws are increasingly targeting illegal immigrants.

The changing sentiment wasn't lost on Latinos who attended this weekend's event at the State Fairgrounds.

"People say they are against illegal immigration, but sometimes I think they're against all immigrants," said Serafin Meza, 29, of Henderson, a legal resident from southern Mexico who was at the event with his wife and 2-year-old triplets.

Public education booths at the event offered legal advice about deportations alongside health and safety information. Some had special information kits for deportees detailing how to do everything from transferring the power of attorney for a small business to making sure someone else can pick up their children from school in their absence.

At one booth, manned by students from UNC-Chapel Hill, people were asked to sign a petition seeking to overturn the ban on illegal immigrants at community colleges.

An American Civil Liberties Union representative at the event said there was an increase in calls about run-ins between immigrants and police.

Jorgelina Araneda, an immigration lawyer representing the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers at the event, said more and more immigrants are feeling squeezed.

"There is a sense of fear, of insecurity," Araneda said. "People are deciding if it's better to stay here illegally or go back home."

Tony Asion, director of El Pueblo, the Hispanic advocacy group that sponsors the event, said he went on Spanish radio and television to reassure the community that immigration authorities would not be present. He said the group had gotten calls from people concerned about coming.

But the fear didn't dampen attendance. He estimated that about 40,000 showed up for the two-day party, easily more than last year, despite a rainy Saturday caused by the passing of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Asion also advertised the event to a wider audience this year in hopes of getting more native North Carolinians to mingle with their Latino neighbors.

"We want to show people in North Carolina that there is a lot to unite us," said Asion. "We want them to see us here with our families and know that we are not some scary group."

Concerns over policy were largely lost on the thousands who came to eat tacos and tortas, watch dancers from different countries or listen to the tunes of a mariachi band.

This year's event featured a court in honor of the quinceanera, with teenage couples dressed in tuxedos and lace representing different Latin American countries. One couple represented the United States.

Some of these teenagers were born in the United States, Asion said. But even those who weren't would feel totally out of place if they were to return to their home countries.

"They're all Americans," Asion said.