N.M. man who saved girl says he's illegal

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 will be honored as a hero Friday. But he is also 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 said he abandoned attempts to get legal residency because the process was difficult and expensive.

Diaz Chacon revealed his immigration status to Univision last 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."

Diaz Chacon's status didn't play a role in Albuquerque's decision to honor his bravery. Mayor Richard Berry planned an afternoon ceremony to recognize the fact that Diaz Chacon jumped in his pickup and chased 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.

In deciding to hold the ceremony, city officials said the question of Diaz Chacon's immigration status never even came up.

"Today's proclamation for Mr. Diaz Chacon is to celebrate the heroic actions that he demonstrated when he saved the life of a 6-year-old girl in danger," the mayor's spokesman, Chris Ramirez, said in a statement. "Mayor Berry is proud of Mr. Diaz Chacon's actions and joins the community in honoring his heroism."

The governor's office said its position was unchanged and accused immigrant rights groups of exploiting Diaz Chacon.

"The Governor believes foreign nationals here legally, whether through work permits or visas, should be able to receive driver's licenses, but is opposed to giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants," Martinez's office said in a statement.

"The radical special interest groups shamefully exploiting this man, who may or may not be here illegally, to further their cause cannot ignore the litany of well-documented cases of this policy that put the public at risk, one of which occurred literally a few blocks away at a Denny's restaurant in 2009 when gang members from El Salvador who had driver's licenses committed a murder."

Marcela Diaz, with the Santa Fe-based Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said the larger question was the fact that Diaz Chacon could acknowledge to being illegal in New Mexico without fear of being deported, but the same might not be the case in other states.

"The question I would ask is, `Would this have played out the same way if we were in Arizona, or Georgia or Alabama?"' she asked.

For his part, Diaz Chacon, a father of two, isn't worried and said he doesn't regret saving the girl.

"I'm not worried. Why should I?" he said. "It's not like I committed a murder or a felony."