"Illegal Alien" Costume Causes Outrage
LOS ANGELES-- An immigrant rights group has asked Target stores to stop selling an illegal alien costume they describe as "offensive" to immigrants and "ignorant."
The costume, sold on Target's web site, features a mask of an extraterrestrial being, wearing an orange jumpsuit with "illegal Alien" written on it, and a "green card" accessory.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the
More..Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, says she emailed Target Headquarters on Friday, calling the costume "distasteful, mean-spirited, and ignorant of social stigmas and current debate on immigration reform."
Many Target customers have given the costume the lowest product rating possible on the site-- 1 of 5 stars-- and have expressed their distaste in the "guest review" section.
"The costume is a sick sign of the times we are living in in this country where those who are not 'people like us' might as well be from another planet and are considered less than human. I am surprised Target would promote such a mentality," one customer wrote on the website.
Target spokesman Joshua Thomas says the company will be removing the costume from the site after receiving several complaints.
According to Thomas, the store never intended to sell the outfit and only included it in its online Halloween offerings by mistake.
Some customers say they will refuse to shop at Target Stores until the costume is removed from the site and an apology is issued. Others call the costume "funny" and say the offended parties should "lighten up."
"This has nothing to do with immigrants," another customer wrote, "Only the illegal criminals from Mars that entered the US without doing it the correct way."
Target started getting complaints Thursday afternoon, Thomas said, but the costume was still online Friday evening. Target's website is managed by Amazon.com, and Thomas said it could take as long as 48 hours to take it down. KTLA Less..
Added: Oct 17 2009 In: news_politics
Recorded on: Oct 16 2009
By: bellava Premium 
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