Hispanic workers across the state chose to stay home Friday instead of braving DUI checkpoints. Some police officers can now enforce immigration laws, and Hispanic workers may have fearing the checkpoints would also target them.

Carlos Siercke from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce says he thinks losing those workers for a day hurt businesses.

"It will have an economic impact, businesses will have to pay extra, double shift, extra time to employees in this difficult economy. And I think the Hispanic community feels persecution," says Siercke.

Don Nail is assistant director of the Governor's highway safety program. He says he thinks those who stayed home overreacted, since the campaign focused on drunk drivers, not Hispanic workers.

"Anybody traveling on NC roads, regardless of their immigration status, as long as they're following the laws, everything's in order, they don't have anything to worry about. What we're really targeting is impaired drivers," says Nail.

The Governor's Highway Safety Program organized the 'Boose it and Lose it' campaign. Nail says the campaign has been around for over ten years, and the only thing it targets is impaired drivers.

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