The Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported Sunday that Hispanics like 41-year-old Miguel Munoz have been targets of discriminatory acts, whose prevalence has increased as the topic of immigration has become a controversial topic nationwide.

Munoz, who is a lawyer in the city of Durham, said he was simply standing in a drug store parking lot recently when an unidentified man in a pickup truck accosted him.

"He said, 'When you come to my country, you need to speak English,'" Munoz said of the incident.

N.C. Latino Coalition head Ivan Parra said such incidents are indicative of a new trend across the state that is fueled by inaccurate stereotypes.

Parra said that while Hispanics were previously seen as hard-working individuals, recent media coverage has led some people to view them as a drain on the economy or potential criminals.

The newspaper said those new stereotypes appear to be surfacing in hostile acts against area Hispanics and in a recent poll that showed support of the cultural group is waning.