2 American women who were detained after speaking Spanish in Montana file suit

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. I found such stories both

hilarious (in a bizarre way) and quite scary.

I live in Santa Fe, NM, and a significant percentage of people here speak Spanish. Most of them are fluently bilingual, although not all. I love it then when I'm out anywhere I almost constantly hear people speaking Spanish. And even though my appearance is obviously Anglo, I'm still amazed at how store clerks seem to instantly know who to speak Spanish with and who to speak English with.

Half of this state would be in custody most of the time if they detained people here for speaking Spanish in a store.

As for some police officer telling someone he should have his passport with him at all times, the officer is 100% wrong. You are not even legally required to have any form of identification with you all the time.