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SC taco restaurant faces race storm over ‘illegal immigrant’ T-shirts

Posted at 10:46 PM, Jan 08, 2013
and last updated 2013-01-08 22:46:08-05

A T-shirt being worn and sold at a West Columbia, SC Mexican restaurant has created a bit of controversy.

The shirts are at a restaurant called Taco Cid. On the back is the slogan:”How to Catch an Illegal Immigrant.”

Accompanying the words is a drawing of a box with a stick being held over two tacos, like a makeshift trap.

A photo of a Taco Cid employee wearing one of the shirts started getting national attention over the weekend after it was tweeted by Corey Hutchins, a reporter at the Free Times. Media outlets like The Guardian also posted about the shirt.

The shirt obviously struck a chord. The owner said that since the shirts debuted, he’s gotten calls from all over the country wanting one of the items, which cost $35.

On its website, Taco Cid has issued a statement about the shirt.

“Our t-shirts were created as a witty and comical statement regarding ILLEGAL immigrants,” the statement said. “There are NO racial nor hate remarks towards any specific ethnic group.”

“As most tax paying Americans, we do believe ILLEGAL immigrants are burdening the system we support and live under, thereby, causing us to work harder and pay higher taxes to support the illegal activities, which our government has simply chosen to look the other way.”

“Is it “racist” to disagree with those who are not supporting the American system?”

Click on the video for the report.