In our Behind the Scenes series , CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind the events . Keith Oppenheim is covering the controversy in Irving , Texas over authorities ' efforts to find illegal immigrants . IRVING , Texas -- I certainly do n't think I look like a cop . With a blue blazer , and scruffy khakis I take into the field , I have that look of a reporter who 's trying to dress up just enough to be professional , but no more . Protesters in Irving , Texas , demonstrate against a program that checks the immigration status of anyone arrested . So , it came as a surprise to me when I learned some Latino men , day laborers who were standing around and hoping to get some work , thought I was a federal immigration officer . `` You thought I was from immigration ? '' I asked one . `` Si '' , the man replied . My producer , Patricia Pedraza , translated the rest . `` The fear is with both immigration and the police . Now you can not trust absolutely anybody . '' In Irving , Texas , a Dallas suburb of about 200,000 people , right next to the big airport , an estimated 40 percent of the city is Latino , and anecdotally , we 're told there are a lot of undocumented workers here , people who are in the U.S. illegally , but clearly do n't view themselves as criminals . `` They take innocent people , they think we 're all the same , '' another undocumented worker told me . The fear is a reaction to what 's called the Criminal Alien Program . Since September of last year , Irving police started to refer anyone arrested in their community to federal authorities , who check their immigration status . `` It 's only for people who have violated Texas laws , and are arrested and brought into the Irving jail , '' said Larry Boyd , Irving 's police chief . As a result , referrals for deportations have shot up to 1,600 , more than 40 times the number from the year before . Statistics from police show that while some of those referrals were for people who committed serious crimes , the majority were a result of misdemeanors and traffic warrants . Many sources told me that a growing number of Latinos here are afraid to drive . The risk is being caught with a suspended license , going to jail and getting deported . See the effect the program has had on Irving » . But if some in the Latino community are lying low , advocates for immigrants are speaking out -- accusing the city and police of targeting Latinos without cause . `` We believe the Criminal Alien Program is fundamentally wrong , '' says Carlos Quintanilla , an activist . `` That there is racial profiling going on . '' The city 's mayor , Herbert Gears , disagrees . He says police are not taking on the role of immigration officers . `` We will make sure people are being treated fairly , '' he said . `` That people are n't being pulled over because of the color of their skin . '' As I spent more time in Irving , I came to realize that outside the large Latino community , there is broad support for the program . `` You have to start somewhere , '' said Sheik Shah , an Irving resident who emigrated to the U.S. from India and is now an American citizen . `` Because right now , we have so many loopholes for people to come in here and work illegally . '' Some were more direct . I read from two tall stacks of printed e-mail addressed to the City Council , which were overwhelmingly supported the Criminal Alien Program . One read : `` Please help deport all illegals . What part of illegal do they not understand ? '' Another : `` Thank God some people are doing something about this invasion . '' In the end , Irving is in the middle of a profound disagreement , between those who feel it 's wrong to refer people to immigration authorities for nonviolent crimes and misdemeanors , and those who believe illegal immigration has gone too far -- that something has to be done . As Irving City Council member Beth Van Duyne told me : `` We need to know who is in our city . If you 're committing a crime , we need to know who you are . I do n't think that 's too much to ask . '' E-mail to a friend .
Illegal immigrants say they fear new crackdown . Authorities running immigration checks on all people arrested in Irving . Deportations up sharply since crackdown began .