SEIU Arizona Member Fernando Villalobos Speaks Out Against SB1070

"Even though I'm a U.S. citizen and a native Arizonan, since SB1070 passed, I'm starting to feel like some people think I don't belong here."

One week before Arizona's extreme law SB1070 is slated to go into effect, SEIU Arizona member Fernando Villalobos shares his fears of the racial profiling and division that could ensue if the law is not stopped. Fernando's story comes at the same time the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Arizona holds hearings to determine whether SB1070 violates federal law and the U.S Constitution.

Most of us wouldn't even be Americans if it weren't for immigration.

I was born in Kearney, Arizona--a small town between Phoenix and Tucson. But my own parents came from Mexico. They came, like so many people before them, to make a better life for their kids. My dad worked in the copper mines, and my mom worked at Motorola.

Today, I've achieved what my parents hoped for. I'm a proud Arizonan with three kids. I work for the Town of Gilbert Water Department, making sure our hydrants are safe, water lines are clear, and our system is running smoothly. Without a doubt, I'm one of the lucky ones. But with the political storm brewing on SB1070, I'm starting to think my luck may have run out.

Even though I'm a U.S. citizen and a native Arizonan, since this extreme immigration law passed, I'm starting to feel like maybe some people think I don't belong here.

Just last weekend a sheriff's car pulled me over and asked if I was speeding. And then they asked if I had any covering over my taillights. Now, I'm pretty sure they didn't clock me for speeding--since they didn't even write me a ticket. And I don't know how they could have seen my taillights--since they were driving in the opposite direction. But what they could see as I was coming down the road was my face and my last name - Villalobos - proudly stenciled across my back windshield together with my son's football jersey number.

The police asked for my registration and driver's license - so they saw I'm a citizen, and they let me go. But I felt targeted for being a Mexican-American.

That same weekend, some stranger at a restaurant approached me and my friends and used a slur you don't hear that much anymore - "Wetback." He told me I'd better start carrying my papers around now that SB1070's been passed. I felt attacked.

They may say this law is aimed at solving illegal immigration, but it feels to me like it's aimed right at me and my family.

I don't really care much for politics, and it seems to me that the politicians who passed SB1070 aren't really interested in immigration reform. They're just trying to get more votes from people who want to see some action taken on the problem. But this is the wrong action - way wrong.

We need to stop SB1070 before it leads to division and hate in our communities. No one who works hard and contributes to their community deserves abuse just because of the way they look, the cars they drive, or their last names. Arizona needs to do better. I know Arizona can do better.

To learn more about SEIU's fight to stop SB1070, go to http://www.ItStopsinArizona.com