Papers Please.......

[patgund]

cormac brought this to my attention.....

Store owner asks to see shoppers' Social Security cards

"All José Genao planned to do at the heating equipment supply store was buy a spare part for his boiler.

While the owner began searching for the part, Genao and his friend began speaking to each other in Spanish.

As owner David C. Richardson was ringing up Genao’s $18 purchase, he demanded to see their Social Security cards.

What followed was a telling encounter underscoring the tensions in this country over immigration and ethnicity.

When Genao told Richardson “he did not have the right to ask all those questions,” Richardson pulled out a membership card for Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, a group that seeks curbs on illegal immigration.

Then, he lifted the phone receiver and threatened to call immigration authorities, Genao said.

“He [Richardson] grabbed the phone and said, ‘I can call ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] anytime I see an illegal immigrant,’ ” said Genao. “He also said, ‘I can make a citizen’s arrest.’ ”

Genao, a Rhode Island state employee, is a native of the Dominican Republic and a U.S. citizen. He speaks fluent English. He said his friend — who declined comment — is also a Dominican native and U.S. citizen. “There is no problem with his status,” said Genao. “He is legal.” State records list both as registered voters."

Comments

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

Krystalnaught, anyone?

[jeran.livejournal.com]

My response would be to quote the chunk of the US Code that spells out who may ask for a Social Security number and for what purpose. I'd note that, by law, a Social Security card is proof of neither identity or citizenship, but is a highly sought-after document by identity thieves because of the usefulness of the SSN.

Also, Mr. Richardson should be aware that, while he can make a citizen's arrest, he can not restrain the arrested person in any way. If he does, he can be on the hook for assault and battery. He'll also find that ICE will be more annoyed with him than with the people he's trying to get in trouble.

[tepintzin.livejournal.com]

Assault and battery and also unlawful confinement.

[tepintzin.livejournal.com]

Geraldo Rivera (who is Puerto Rican) just published a book entitled "Hispanic" (with the "his" and the "panic" in different colours for emphasis). I think I need to read it. It's about racist bullshit like this that starts coming down on us perfectly legal Latinos.

Things like this hit me a little closer to home than some readers. Prince William County recently passed (don't know if the challenge has hit yet) a law saying that anyone "suspicious" could be asked for their papers. My maternal grandmother lives there and speaks poor English. It's not that she never tries, she's just bad with languages.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

People need to learn that you can't tell whether someone is here legally by looking at them or hearing what language they speak. The only person I've known who I knew was here illegally looked like a perfectly normal white American. He mostly sounded like one too. He was from Ireland and was in this country using documentation belonging to an uncle with the same name. Most of the people I know who look the way people picture illegal immigrants are Puerto Ricans who are all US citizens.

Vigilante groups who want to take immigration issues into their own hands scare me.