Husband's run in with border patrol.....

[jemgumby]

Ok this is sooo weird. My DH is a carpenter and he has a job this week where he is replacing siding on a house. Sooooo, the house is in a nicer neighborhood and the woman who hired him is very nice but she works during the day and is not home. Soooo, anyway, today he was out working his butt off in the heat (90+ degree heat) and wearing a wide brimmed hat minding his own business. So he notices a SUV with "US Border Patrol" on the side crusing up and down the street but you know he's like whatever. Then the SUV leaves and then comes back and the guy honks at him and waves him over. Then he asks DH "what kind of work are you doing and if he had anybody else working with him?" DH says no it was just him and explained the nature of his work. The guy says ok and drives off......It gave my DH a good laugh as he is very dark skinned and really wanted to walk up and say "Ola!" or just run into the woods behind the house and have the guy chase after him and then when the guy asked why he ran he just would say he had diarrhea!!!! Anyways, I am here laughing thinking of that scene from "Fun with Dick and Jane".......Crazy stuff!!! We figure somebody in the neighborhood saw him and reported him!!!! Too weird!!!!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

thats what Border patrol does, check worksites.

I suspect that if your husband had "ran off" the ending would probably not have been as funny an outcome as he thought.

 

[disykat]

I take it you live near the border of Mexico, but your dh is not hispanic?

 

[LuvOrlando]

WOW, that seems invasive to me. Do they really drive to and harass people at random while they are working? Couldn't this end up with a horribly embarrassing arrest, and loss of a job or illegal deportation if someone who actually should be here just can't produce their papers on the spot? This makes me shudder, then again, I'm a Yankee.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

Ok this is sooo weird. My DH is a carpenter and he has a job this week where he is replacing siding on a house. Sooooo, the house is in a nicer neighborhood and the woman who hired him is very nice but she works during the day and is not home. Soooo, anyway, today he was out working his butt off in the heat (90+ degree heat) and wearing a wide brimmed hat minding his own business. So he notices a SUV with "US Border Patrol" on the side crusing up and down the street but you know he's like whatever. Then the SUV leaves and then comes back and the guy honks at him and waves him over. Then he asks DH "what kind of work are you doing and if he had anybody else working with him?" DH says no it was just him and explained the nature of his work. The guy says ok and drives off......It gave my DH a good laugh as he is very dark skinned and really wanted to walk up and say "Ola!" or just run into the woods behind the house and have the guy chase after him and then when the guy asked why he ran he just would say he had diarrhea!!!! Anyways, I am here laughing thinking of that scene from "Fun with Dick and Jane".......Crazy stuff!!! We figure somebody in the neighborhood saw him and reported him!!!! Too weird!!!!

That is their job. If someone reported it, border patrol needs to check it out. There are lots of day laborers around here and I'm sure they are not all legal. It sounds like the officer was professional and didn't make a big deal about nothing, just checking. I'm glad your DH didn't do anything silly, but it is fun to think about doing that kind of thing.

 

[Nennie]

or just run into the woods behind the house and have the guy chase after him and then when the guy asked why he ran he just would say he had diarrhea!!!! Anyways, I am here laughing thinking of that scene from "Fun with Dick and Jane".......Crazy stuff!!!

You made me laugh out loud with this part!!! I always love giggling at stuff like that, "wouldn't it be funny if...." LOL!!!!!

 

[jemgumby]

I take it you live near the border of Mexico, but your dh is not hispanic?

We live in Mississippi (unfortunately!!!!) and no my husband is Italian....I just think it's funny someone actually reported him. Sounds like to me somebody in the neighborhood is a busybody but that's just me!!!

 

[jemgumby]

WOW, that seems invasive to me. Do they really drive to and harass people at random while they are working? Couldn't this end up with a horribly embarrassing arrest, and loss of a job or illegal deportation if someone who actually should be here just can't produce their papers on the spot? This makes me shudder, then again, I'm a Yankee.

Yeah I kinda agree with you on that. What I didn't like was the fact that the guy didn't even get out of his air conditioned SUV. He honked and waved DH over and I just have the feeling if DH was Mexican the guy would've been a real jerk. It kind of makes me feel bad for those that could be harrassed by border patrol. If it was me I wouldn't have walked over. I would've made the guy come to me. If it's that important to him he can get out of his SUV and come to me.....isn't that what he's paid for????? He didn't even ask for any ID and here's another thing....my DH's truck was parked in the driveway with the license plate. Couldn't the guy just run a check on that???? Anyways, no biggie but did give DH a good laugh!

 

[VickiVM]

BTW - It's "Hola", not Ola.

 

[jemgumby]

thats what Border patrol does, check worksites.

I suspect that if your husband had "ran off" the ending would probably not have been as funny an outcome as he thought.

Yeah but we might've had a great lawsuit!!!!

 

[EMom]

Well, if they drove down my street right now, they'd round up a truckload doing yardwork. Don't ask how I know they're illegal. Live in Texas long enough and you just know.

Funny thing is, it's the families who moved here from Mexico who ALWAYS use lawn services and refuse to do any sort of yard work. This has been noticed far and wide in our town, which is fairly affluent. You can go into a neighborhood of beautiful, large homes on any given weekend and you will inevitably find at least some of the owners doing yardwork....mowing, weeding, planting flowers......but only the Anglos. In that group, I'll include the Europeans who have moved here. The wealthy families who have moved here from Mexico, Central America and South America would not be caught dead doing yardwork. They look at us like this when they see an OWNER doing physical labor.

From talking to them, it's all a matter of background. Here in America, many of the owners of very swank homes grew up in middle class homes where it was their job to mow the grass. Some of them made money as teens doing yardwork. A lot of them have gotten where they are today by being frugal along the way, and that means many still mow their own grass instead of paying for a lawn service. And in the US, there is no shame in that. People may think you're nuts for not forking over the cash, but they don't look down on you. Also, we recognize that some people get a sense of satisfaction and pride from taking care of their own lawns.

Our Mexican friends grew up in a class system that was clearly defined. People of their station DID NOT do yard work. Only the "lower classes" did that. They have a hard time wrapping their brain around the fact that someone can be making 6 figures and still want to do their own yardwork. Because where they grew up, no one of their class would ever do such menial labor. And even though they now live in a country in which it's completely acceptable to do such tasks, they are still horror-stricken that their NEIGHBORS...the people they socialize with, would mow their own grass.

They cannot figure out what is wrong with us.

 

[jemgumby]

BTW - It's "Hola", not Ola.

Is it just me or is it annoying when people post just to correct grammar or spelling????

 

[jemgumby]

Well, if they drove down my street right now, they'd round up a truckload doing yardwork. Don't ask how I know they're illegal. Live in Texas long enough and you just know.

Funny thing is, it's the families who moved here from Mexico who ALWAYS use lawn services and refuse to do any sort of yard work. This has been noticed far and wide in our town, which is fairly affluent. You can go into a neighborhood of beautiful, large homes on any given weekend and you will inevitably find at least some of the owners doing yardwork....mowing, weeding, planting flowers......but only the Anglos. In that group, I'll include the Europeans who have moved here. The wealthy families who have moved here from Mexico, Central America and South America would not be caught dead doing yardwork. They look at us like this when they see an OWNER doing physical labor.

From talking to them, it's all a matter of background. Here in America, many of the owners of very swank homes grew up in middle class homes where it was their job to mow the grass. Some of them made money as teens doing yardwork. A lot of them have gotten where they are today by being frugal along the way, and that means many still mow their own grass instead of paying for a lawn service. And in the US, there is no shame in that. People may think you're nuts for not forking over the cash, but they don't look down on you. Also, we recognize that some people get a sense of satisfaction and pride from taking care of their own lawns.

Our Mexican friends grew up in a class system that was clearly defined. People of their station DID NOT do yard work. Only the "lower classes" did that. They have a hard time wrapping their brain around the fact that someone can be making 6 figures and still want to do their own yardwork. Because where they grew up, no one of their class would ever do such menial labor. And even though they now live in a country in which it's completely acceptable to do such tasks, they are still horror-stricken that their NEIGHBORS...the people they socialize with, would mow their own grass.

They cannot figure out what is wrong with us.

QUICK go report them!!! No, just kidding!!! That is interesting about the whole yard work thing, didn't know that......

 

[Kim&Chris]

Yeah but we might've had a great lawsuit!!!!

I seriously doubt it would have resulted in a "great lawsuit"

 

[jemgumby]

I seriously doubt it would have resulted in a "great lawsuit"

You never know!!!

 

[VickiVM]

The work the Border Patrol do is very serious and dangerous...just ask the families of the hundres of slain men, women and children that have become innocent victims of the drug wars in Mexico that have crossed the border.

To suggest to 'report' any hispanic person doing manual labor is no funnier than for someone to suggest the law enforcement to go investigate non-substianted allegations in your own home.

My mother's husband is a Mexican national and looks every bit the part of a day laborer because he is employed by a concrete company, but he is completely and totally legal to work in the US.

So a person doing siding work on a home had a Border Patrol agent ask him a few questions and then did nothing further...I don't see how saying "Hola" and then running off into the woods would be comical.

 

[Boo'sMom]

Is it just me or is it annoying when people post just to correct grammar or spelling????

no more annoying that someone stereotyping an entire ethnicity and making ignorant statements.
IMHO, if you're going throw something like that out there, you're far more effective if you actually use the correct word.

Hola=hello
Ola= a wave

 

[JohnMarshall12]

I am glad your husband didn't run or try to get funny. Never a good idea to mess with someone who has a gun. This situation kind of reminds of that case where the EMT driver was pulled over by the cops in Oklahoma. Best advice is to just go with the flow and not raise cain. Too much risk for collateral damage. Better to just let the situation go and report him later if you feel they crossed a line. Here, it looks like he was just doing his job, but I know it would bother me if I had been questioned.

 

[LindaR]

Well......I find this very offensive. I live in New Mexico. Anytime I go to Las Cruces or to El Paso (which is frequent) I have to stop at the Border Patrol checkpoint.

I have NEVER found the issue of security or legality to be "funny" and worthy of stereotypes. Nor have I EVER been offended to be asked, "Ma'am, are you a US citizen?" and have the officer look into the back seat of my car. I have also had to open the trunk and answer questions about what I was doing, where I was going/coming from, what's in the shopping bags, etc.

It is their JOB!

BTW, I have light brown hair and green eyes AND still have the military sticker on my car. My daughter is very blond with blue eyes. We get asked questions. We answer questions. It's not funny. It's for OUR protection/benefit.......and by "our".....I mean each person in this country.

 

[Boo'sMom]

Well......I find this very offensive. I live in New Mexico. Anytime I go to Las Cruces or to El Paso (which is frequent) I have to stop at the Border Patrol checkpoint.

I have NEVER found the issue of security or legality to be "funny" and worthy of stereotypes. Nor have I EVER been offended to be asked, "Ma'am, are you a US citizen?" and have the officer look into the back seat of my car. I have also had to open the trunk and answer questions about what I was doing, where I was going/coming from, what's in the shopping bags, etc.

It is their JOB!

BTW, I have light brown hair and green eyes AND still have the military sticker on my car. My daughter is very blond with blue eyes. We get asked questions. We answer questions. It's not funny. It's for OUR protection/benefit.......and by "our".....I mean each person in this country.

well said