Reasonable Suspicion: Being a Latino ballplayer in Arizona

This spring, Elian Herrera came to Arizona to work. Herrera is 28 years old. He was born in the Dominican Republic. He has dark skin, and though he speaks English, he does so deliberately, in a way that reveals that his first language in Spanish.

In Los Angeles, Herrera is a backup outfielder with the Dodgers. Here at spring training, he's the type of guy who could arouse "reasonable suspicion." A person who's "reasonably suspicious," according to Arizona's immigration law, is one who looks like he or she might be in the United States illegally. That means Herrera faces the same dilemma as a Latino day laborer in Nogales or a Hispanic attorney from Phoenix. If Herrera is pulled over — if he fails to use his blinker, say — a police officer can ask to see his papers.

"Right now, if they want, they can stop and ask," Herrera says. "If there's no ID, they can take you down."

The Arizona law, known as SB 1070, went into effect in September. Six months later, half the players in baseball have reported to the greater Phoenix area. More than one-quarter of those players are Latino. Even though every one of them is fully documented, SB 1070 has made major leaguers into unwitting test subjects and spring training into a simulated game of "Who looks suspicious?" "The Dominican ballplayer that speaks Spanish, in the eyes of some, that's 'reasonable suspicion,'" says Raul Grijalva, a Democratic U.S. congressman from Tucson.


Much more here: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9096405/arizona-immigration-law-spring-training