When the twin towers of the World Trade Center crumbled into dust on 9/11, Goshen couple Fernando and Monica knew that the U.S. would be taking drastic measures to improve national security.
Nearly seven years later, one of those measures has put the feet of local undocumented residents to the fire.
In 2007, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles followed the lead of 47 other states by bringing its databases into compatibility with those of the Social Security Administration, enabling the BMV to cross-reference its records with the SSAs. That change resulted in the discovery of hundreds of thousands of discrepancies, many regarding Social Security numbers.
In accordance with state law, the BMV has required Social Security numbers of driver's license applicants since 2001. To fulfill this requirement, and since the numbers were not verified by the BMV until now, undocumented residents invented a Social Security number or used numbers belonging to other people. Those drivers will have their Indiana driver's license invalidated on Feb. 1.
For 14 years, Fernando and Monica and their family have lived in Goshen. Both of their elementary-age daughters were born here. Life hasn't been perfect, but this is the first time they've seriously considered packing up and leaving, for Mexico or at least for another state in the U.S.
"Now we're scared," Fernando said.
They aren't the only ones. Some have already left. Others intend to stay, and many are struggling with the decision. Those who plan to stay are making arrangements for the inevitable: the consequences of being caught driving without a valid driver's license.
Here and there, a few are bogged down in righteous indignation.
"What are we going to do? We have to drive," said one woman at a post-Christmas meeting on the subject in Goshen.
"Do we?" responded organizer Miguel Millan. "Even though in Mexico we use buses and mini-buses, here we don't want to use them." Millan and Avila also pointed out that, even in the winter, some local Anglos can be seen walking to work every day through town.
"We didn't come here to walk," retorted one participant, who would give his name only as Pancho.
Seferino Carmona is less indignant, but just as bothered by the situation.
"They say it's against the law. But I went, gave them a number and they gave me a license. Is that a crime? I don't know why it would be."
As letters began arriving, misinformation fueled concern. Rumors included an impending mass confiscation of vehicles by local police officers, translations of one's foreign driver's license serving as an acceptable substitute for a local driver's license and that the letters were sent only to Hispanics.
Those rumors aren't true.
But what is evident is that the repercussions of the Feb. 1 action also will be felt by those too young to drive.
"My daughter cries. My son says, 'You go back. I'm staying,'" says Enriqueta, who fears identification by giving her last name. Her children barely know Mexico and want to stay here in a setting with which they are familiar and where, Enriqueta says, they are doing very well in school.
"Her teacher says that she is very intelligent, that she might someday be able to get a scholarship to college," her husband, Marcos, says of the youngest. He thinks they should go home, but Enriqueta wants the children to continue their education here.
Carmona and Fernando also say that their children are the reason they're hesitating.
Fernando's family has made a habit of taking regular vacations to iconic American destinations. The children know, and enjoy, far more about this country than they do of their parents' homeland.
"We've taken them to New York, Niagara, Wisconsin Dells, Orlando, even that mall in Minnesota. They know this country. The youngest one's never even been to Mexico."
He adds that once his license is invalidated, he won't be taking the girls to after-school events, the park, outings with friends or vacations.
A man on his own can get around more easily, both say. But having a family requires driving.
"It doesn't only take away our freedom. It takes away theirs," Fernando said.
But what he's most afraid of, he says, is being handcuffed during a traffic stop in front of the children.
Both Fama and Mexicar, used-car dealerships in Goshen, say that sales are down considerably over the last two months, and manager Marrón Rodriguez of Mexicar expects his location to close shortly.
Seferino Carmona knows of eight people from his place of employment in Goshen who already have returned home to Mexico since receiving the letters. Several of Fernando's acquaintances have stopped paying their mortgages and vehicle payments, he said, intending to leave soon and without notice.
Residents trying to comply with what laws that they can are being helped by several advocates in Goshen. Last week, residents organized by one of these groups peppered insurance agent Rich Michaels with questions regarding insurance coverage for unlicensed drivers. Michaels said that automobile insurance can be purchased even if a driver doesn't have a valid driver's license, although for a higher-than-usual premium.
Last Monday night, allegations abounded at another community meeting that the BMV's records are riddled with internal mistakes and that local BMV personnel are behaving inconsistently with the new regulations.
"I didn't know the BMV could check immigration papers. I thought that was not their jurisdiction," shouted Zulma Prieto of Goshen, in response to a specific experience. "They are not supposed to check if a passport has a visa. That's none of their business."
The situation is leading everyone to think they can have the right to ask immigrants for their papers, she added emotionally.
Several attendees also voiced convictions that their ethnicity prompts police and sheriff's officers to target them, and that they will be even more of a target after Feb. 1.
For the first time in 17 years, tears, uneasy laughter and ire consistently characterize conversations.
"I wouldn't wish this on anyone," Carmona said.
In response to local requests, Juana Watson, member of the Indiana Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, will add Goshen to her circuit of communities with whom she is confronting the upheaval. A date for her local appearance has not yet been determined.