DREAMers: Barking at a dog can lead to deportation

Victor Napoles (21), an undocumented immigrant, is facing deportation to Mexico after barking back at the dog of a border patrol agent at a traffic light.

What started off as a late-night silly joke a year ago has turned into a nightmare for a fellow DREAMer and his family. Napoles, who has been fighting his deportation case for almost a year now, says that he had no idea that such a small act could lead to such drastic consequences.

"I was taking my friend home and was at a stoplight when an unmarked Durango drove up next to me," Napoles said. "The dog in the car started barking at me and I thought, 'Why not?' and barked back. I had no idea it was a Border Patrol's dog." Shortly after the light turned green and Napoles drove away, he noticed flashing police lights and pulled over. "The first thing the officer said was, 'Why were you barking at my dog?'" Napoles said. "I was dumbfounded."

Napoles qualifies for the DREAM Act and his attorney has been trying to delay the court hearing until the DREAM Act passes but the chances of any immigration reform in an election year are bleak.  

You can catch the entire story here. 

Moral of the story–Don't behave like a juvenile to strangers and their pets at a traffic stop. Granted that Napoles got extremely unlucky but seriously speaking, if you are undocumented, you obviously should not be doing things to draw attention to yourself. Keep a low profile, behave respectfully and talk humbly and politely to everyone. At the end of the day, don't grant people a reason to doubt your integrity, sanity, hard-work or commitment to this country. And especially not by barking back at dogs in the middle of the night at a traffic stop. Listen to some soothing music instead.