Hero who saved girl from abductor is illegal immigrant

Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

The man who chased down a suspected child abductor and saved a 6-year-old girl from what could have been a horrible fate was honored as a hero Friday. But he also is gaining a new kind of celebrity: as a poster child of sorts for immigration rights in state and national immigration debates.

Antonio Diaz Chacon, 23, is married to an American and has been in the country for four years. But Chacon says he abandoned attempts to get legal residency because the process was difficult and expensive.

Diaz Chacon revealed his immigration status to Univision this week and confirmed to The Associated Press that he is illegal, prompting chatter on the Internet and social- networking sites that his case underscored immigrant-rights positions in two ongoing political debates.

Some argue he is an example of the kind of immigrant the federal government will now largely leave alone. The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that deportations would focus on criminals.

“As exceptional as his story is,” said Christina Parker, a spokeswoman for Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso, Texas, “it points to the fact that most undocumented immigrants living in the United States are not criminals. He’s more than not a criminal now. He’s a hero.”

Others used it to blast New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s ongoing attempts to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain a driver’s license. The governor has put the repeal, which was defeated in the regular session earlier this year, on the agenda for a September special session.

“Most are just working to support their families and to take away their driver’s license would be detrimental to that,” Parker said.

Diaz Chacon’s status didn’t play a role in Albuquerque’s decision to honor his bravery. Mayor Richard Berry declared Friday Antonio Diaz Chacon Day in Albuquerque and had an afternoon ceremony in which he presented Diaz Chacon a Spanish- language plaque recognizing his bravery in jumping in his pickup and chasing the suspect until he crashed into a light pole. Diaz Chacon then rescued the girl as the driver of the disabled van ran into the desert. The suspect was arrested later by police.

Diaz Chacon, with his wife and two daughters, was all smiles at the ceremony, which also was attended by the officers who eventually arrested kidnapping suspect Phillip Garcia, 29.

In deciding to have the ceremony, city officials said the question of Diaz Chacon’s immigration status never even came up. Nor was it mentioned at the event.