If you think that Trump's immigration order isn't already causing problems for people of color living in the states, think again! Brenda Carrillo, a Mexican American woman, and her friend had just been seated at the outdoor patio of Saint Marc, an upscale eatery in Huntingon Beach, California, when the waiter posed the most offensive question imaginable. The women were still waiting for two others when he came right out and asked: "Can I see your proof of residency?" But wait until you hear the rest.
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The two women were so shocked by the question, that Carrillo's friend even repeated it in disbelief. The waiter then replied saying: "I need to make sure you're from here before I serve you." Oh hell no!
"It was kind of hard to process because we've never experienced this," 23-year-old Carrillo explained in an interview. But wait, it gets worse. Carrillo's sister, Diana, and another friend joined them a little later and they were asked the same thing by the same waiter. That's when the four of them decided to go speak to the manager.
The manager apologized and offered to re-seat the women but they declined the offer and took off. "I've never felt so judged in my life … It sends a chill through your entire body," Diana Carrillo said.
Still shaken up by the whole thing, Diana decided to post about their traumatic experience on both Facebook and Yelp. The posts drew so much response that the restaurant management eventually reached out to her and apologized. The post on Facebook so far has more than 1,500 shares and 700+ comments by a bunch of very pissed off people.
Embedded content: https://www.facebook.com/diana.carrillo.969/posts/10211955070859929&width=500
"I've been asked for proof of residency in Covina and Glendora. Glendora (CA) about 10 years ago, I just left. Covina (CA) this year, at Walmart. I had to call the manager and not let it happen a 2nd time," one commenter named Vanessa Marquez wrote.
"Thank you for posting, Carrillo sisters," wrote Florence Contreras. "I am hurt by your experience."
Did I mention that Diana and Brenda were both born and raised in California? "I'm more afraid for others in my community, people who are immigrants. If this were to happen to them, I'm sure they would be too afraid to speak out for themselves," Brenda said.
Kent Bearden, the senior director of operations for the restaurant told The Washington Post that the waiter had been fired.
The restaurant also offered to host Brenda Carrillo and her friends as "VIP" guests and were willing to donate 10 percent of the weekend sales to a nonprofit of their choice. The girls declined the VIP guests offer but asked the restaurant to donate the share of proceeds specifically to the Orange County Immigrant Youth United, an organization based in Santa Ana, California, which advocates for undocumented immigrants living in the states.
That's great and all that the waiter was fired and that the restaurant apologized, but honestly, something like this should never happen. It's unfortunate, but there's no doubt in my mind that Trump's current administration has encouraged this kind of behavior. We need to keep speaking up about this sort of thing and let ignorant people (like this waiter) know that this kind of behavior will never be tolerated.
Image via iStock
