"Illegal Alien" Halloween costume sparks ire
Associated Press
10/16/09 10:05 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES — A Southern California immigrant rights group has asked Target stores and a costume company to stop selling an "illegal alien" Halloween costume it says is offensive to immigrants.
The costume features the mask of an alien with a green card and an orange jumpsuit with"illegal alien" written across the front.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, wrote e-mails to Minneapolis-based Target and Wisconsin-based BuySeasons, Inc. Friday calling the costume "distasteful, mean-spirited, and ignorant of social stigmas and current debate on immigration reform." The group said it also planned to send letters to other companies that are selling the costume.
Target spokesman Joshua Thomas says the company is removing the costume from the site after receiving several complaints.
He says the store never intended to sell the outfit but included it in its online offerings by mistake.
An email to BuySeasons, Inc. was not immediately returned Friday.
