The Cavalcante manhunt stirred up unsettling ideas about dangerous migrants

‘My first thought when I heard Cavalcante was “loose” in our neighborhoods was that until he was found no brown person walking down our roads would be safe from suspicion.’ Photograph: Jessica Griffin/AP

My friend and I have been holding our breaths since Sunday.

That day, Danelo Cavalcante – a man convicted of murder who escaped from Chester county prison on 31 August – drove a stolen van into our neighborhood, ditched it behind a church, and was reportedly hiding out here. Suddenly the pretty but unassuming Pennsylvania places we call home – Glenmoore, East Nantmeal, South Coventry – were teeming with law enforcement teams, helicopters and news crews.