This goes out to all of those Latinos comfortable in their privilege, all of those who say that the “legal” Latinos have nothing to worry about, all of those who are offended when they are called Mexican.

Last week, a Puerto Rican born U.S. citizen, 32 year old Eduardo Caraballo, arrested on criminal charges was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) for being undocumented.

I wanted to write about this today especially after being told by a commenter that “my country” violates human rights and free speech. I, like all Puerto Ricans born in the mainland United States or on the colonized island of enchantment, are U.S. citizens.

So yes, here is the perfect example of the United States violating rights.

But there are numerous other concerns for me.

First, the idea that this is new. When I began writing more about immigration, my mother told me about the time that “la Migra” stormed into her own childhood apartment, roughed my abuelo up demanding his papers.

Second, there is the disgusting willful effort of some Latinos who have chosen to internalize the idea that “Mexicans” are the problem and if all the other Latino groups could just separate themselves from being “Mexican” then we don’t have to worry about anything. For example, Mr. Caraballo is quoted as saying how I.C.E was confused by his “Mexican features”. I am bothered by how so many Latinos are still swallowing stereotypical ideas about what looks like this or looks like that. Mind you this is coming from a brown girl who can often pass for white and who was told by people when my daughters were born that “hopefully” they would lighten up and how to massage their noses so that they wouldn’t be so wide the way my mother was told to massage my nose. Just the other day, my mother told me a story of how the son of a co-worker was approached inside a Walmart in New Jersey and asked if he was “a fucking Mexican” by a large group of white young men. The Latino responded “I’m a fucking Puerto Rican.” Is this what we as Latinos are reduced to in terms of defending ourselves? Certainly none of us wants to be the next Marcelo Lucero. None of us wants our daughters to be the next Brisenia Flores but do we malign the names of our hermanos and hermanas the way so many in the media and government do? While I am a proud Rican, it’s one of the reasons I embrace more general terms like Latino. In doing so, I acknowledge the mestizaje that makes me and my children who they are and the shared history that includes hundreds of years of struggle against colonialism and imperialism. Would it be better if non-Mexicans responded with “Maybe, what’s it to you?” when asked if we are Mexican?

Third, this demonstrates how woefully ignorant people remain about Puerto Rico, the island’s history and it’s current political status.