2 American women who were detained after speaking Spanish in Montana file suit

[workinclasszero]

“This changed our lives, I believe, forever,” one of the women said. She has also said the incident made her young daughter afraid to speak Spanish.

By Daniella Silva Feb. 14, 2019, 3:26 PM CST

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on behalf of two American women who were detained after speaking Spanish at a convenience store in Montana.

Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez, who were both born in the United States, have said they were detained by a Border Patrol agent after he heard them chatting in Spanish while buying groceries at a store in Havre, Montana, in May. Their exchange with him was captured by the women on video.

The agent, Paul O’Neal, “singled out, detained, and interrogated” the women “because he heard them speaking Spanish,” the lawsuit claims.

He “offered no other justification for their detention, and there was no reason to believe that either Ms. Suda or Ms. Hernandez had violated any law,” the suit says.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/2-american-women-detained-after-speaking-spanish-montana-file-suit-n971716

[dubyadiprecession]

1. Why does this story sound fake?

You can’t arrest people for speaking a foreign language.

[workinclasszero]

2. But they are brown too

Every non white Spanish speaking person in this country is subject to "show your papers please" at anytime and any place in tRumps fascist MAGA 'mercia.

[MontanaMama]

3. We have a friend (Mark) staying with us this week from New Zealand...

he was in Texas two weeks ago and he and another man were detained by local police after an employee at a store where they were browsing reported his "foreign accent". Mark told me that the officer asked for his passport and when he told him it was in his luggage and not on his person, the cop told him he had to have it on him at all times. Lie. This has gotten out of control, imho.

[Laffy Kat]

4. It doesn't say the women were arrested, it says they were detained.

It's an NBC story and I have no reason to believe it's not credible. THIS is the USA now.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. I found such stories both

hilarious (in a bizarre way) and quite scary.

I live in Santa Fe, NM, and a significant percentage of people here speak Spanish. Most of them are fluently bilingual, although not all. I love it then when I'm out anywhere I almost constantly hear people speaking Spanish. And even though my appearance is obviously Anglo, I'm still amazed at how store clerks seem to instantly know who to speak Spanish with and who to speak English with.

Half of this state would be in custody most of the time if they detained people here for speaking Spanish in a store.

As for some police officer telling someone he should have his passport with him at all times, the officer is 100% wrong. You are not even legally required to have any form of identification with you all the time.