Store owner asks to see shoppers' Social Security cards
08:48 AM EDT on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
By Karen Lee Ziner
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — 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.
Richardson, owner of Rhode Island Refrigeration on Branch Avenue, did not dispute most of Genao’s account of the March 1 incident, but said he did not recall picking up the phone receiver, and was not trying to threaten anyone. Interviewed at his store, Richardson said he singled out Genao’s friend, whom he thought only spoke Spanish.
“I wanted to see the Social Security number from the one who wasn’t speaking English,” said Richardson. “I just kind of mentioned I’d like to see his Social Security card. And he kinda balked. He left and walked out the door.” When the friend returned to urge Genao to leave, Richardson added, “he started to speak in English. That surprised me.”
Richardson, a Reform party member and former Senate candidate, said he was acting on civic duty. Genao accused Richardson of racial stereotyping, “all because we were speaking Spanish.”
Said Richardson, “I have no problem as a citizen of the United States of America to try and pursue people who are breaking laws. I was just trying to make [them] understand that people who come into this country who are illegal shouldn’t be here. I am very passionate about that.” He said he did not call ICE or make a citizen’s arrest “because I didn’t have enough proof.”
Richardson was asked what led him to suspect that either of the men were illegal immigrants.
“What proof is there? I think the majority of people who don’t speak English in Rhode Island — at least 51 percent or more — are illegal aliens,” he said. He added, “I’m trying to wake America up. I’m trying to wake him [Genao’s friend] up, and let him be aware that people who are breaking the law shouldn’t be breaking the law.”
Mark Potok, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, which tracks hate crimes in the United States, said the incident reflects the tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in this country — not solely restricted to illegal immigrants.
“This kind of thing is happening every day in this country,” said Potok. “Do we really want to bring the country to this point where everyone who is brown-skinned is suspect?
“It’s really quite incredible people can be confronted in this way,” said Potok. “We hear everyday from U.S. congressmen and television pundits and talk radio about the many terrible things brown-skinned immigrants are doing to this country — and they are almost universally false — but the reality is, they lead directly to incidents like this, and, less directly, to violence.”
Genao said he is still upset over the encounter, which he called “loud in tone.” Richardson called it “a discussion.”
“I told [Richardson] I’m a U.S. citizen by choice, whereas he was just born here,” said Genao. “I have every right to be here. I told him his behavior was shameful. And he went on to say that a lot of these illegal immigrants are criminals and we have to stop them, and he said he did this for his country — because it’s going downhill, because of all these illegal immigrants.
“What [Richardson] should have done was say, ‘Thank you for shopping with me.’ That’s all he had to do.”
RIILE, the organization to which Richardson belongs, was formed in 2006 by Terry Gorman of Lincoln. RIILE seeks enforcement of current immigration laws; supports any new legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration; opposes guest-worker programs; and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Gorman took exception to Richardson’s actions.
“There’s no way I can defend what he did. It definitely isn’t the policy of RIILE to go around and use your RIILE card to intimidate people,” said Gorman in a phone interview. “That’s not something that RIILE would promote … to make citizen’s arrest.”
According to Gorman, Richardson “has done that to other people and he’s refused their business if they have no Social Security number. Then he doesn’t sell his products to them.”
Richardson said he has asked for customers’ Social Security numbers if they do not speak English well, and estimated that he has done so “fifteen or twenty times.” At first, Richardson said he has refused to do business with some people who declined to show him a Social Security card. He subsequently denied that, and said he had asked people for their cards “maybe 10 times in the last five years.”
Though Richardson said it is his legal right to demand a Social Security card — it may not be.
Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Richardson appears to have violated a state law (R.I. General Law 6-13-17) related to “unfair sales practices.”
The law states, “Unless otherwise required by federal law, no person shall require that a consumer of goods or services disclose a Social Security number incident to the sale of consumer goods or services.”
There are several exceptions, including that insurance companies and institutions licensed by the state or federal government for financial services may require applicants to disclose their Social Security number. Consumers may also be required to disclose their Social Security numbers when applying for a credit card or seeking health care or pharmaceutical related services.
Brown said the law, “designed to protect consumers’ rights, generally prohibits businesses from requiring customers to disclose their Social Security number. The law contains both criminal and civil penalties.” In Brown’s opinion, “by demanding that this customer present his Social Security card, the owner clearly ran afoul of that law.”
Brown said Richardson’s actions “also appear to clearly violate state laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in places of public accommodation. There can be little question that this customer was singled out for discriminatory and humiliating treatment based on his national origin. Store owners have a legal obligation to serve all customers, and threatening to arrest a customer for speaking Spanish and for refusing to show a Social Security card is precisely the type of discriminatory conduct that the state’s ‘public accommodations’ law was meant to bar.”
Genao said, “Somehow, we have to keep on educating people. When it comes to this man [Richardson], does he have any children or grandchildren? Does he let them see anyone who is not their kind? Or does ask them for their documents before he can let them play together?”
kziner@projo.com
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.
Richardson, owner of Rhode Island Refrigeration on Branch Avenue, did not dispute most of Genao’s account of the March 1 incident, but said he did not recall picking up the phone receiver, and was not trying to threaten anyone. Interviewed at his store, Richardson said he singled out Genao’s friend, whom he thought only spoke Spanish.
“I wanted to see the Social Security number from the one who wasn’t speaking English,” said Richardson. “I just kind of mentioned I’d like to see his Social Security card. And he kinda balked. He left and walked out the door.” When the friend returned to urge Genao to leave, Richardson added, “he started to speak in English. That surprised me.”
Richardson, a Reform party member and former Senate candidate, said he was acting on civic duty. Genao accused Richardson of racial stereotyping, “all because we were speaking Spanish.”
Said Richardson, “I have no problem as a citizen of the United States of America to try and pursue people who are breaking laws. I was just trying to make [them] understand that people who come into this country who are illegal shouldn’t be here. I am very passionate about that.” He said he did not call ICE or make a citizen’s arrest “because I didn’t have enough proof.”
Richardson was asked what led him to suspect that either of the men were illegal immigrants.
“What proof is there? I think the majority of people who don’t speak English in Rhode Island — at least 51 percent or more — are illegal aliens,” he said. He added, “I’m trying to wake America up. I’m trying to wake him [Genao’s friend] up, and let him be aware that people who are breaking the law shouldn’t be breaking the law.”
Mark Potok, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, which tracks hate crimes in the United States, said the incident reflects the tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in this country — not solely restricted to illegal immigrants.
“This kind of thing is happening every day in this country,” said Potok. “Do we really want to bring the country to this point where everyone who is brown-skinned is suspect?
“It’s really quite incredible people can be confronted in this way,” said Potok. “We hear everyday from U.S. congressmen and television pundits and talk radio about the many terrible things brown-skinned immigrants are doing to this country — and they are almost universally false — but the reality is, they lead directly to incidents like this, and, less directly, to violence.”
Genao said he is still upset over the encounter, which he called “loud in tone.” Richardson called it “a discussion.”
“I told [Richardson] I’m a U.S. citizen by choice, whereas he was just born here,” said Genao. “I have every right to be here. I told him his behavior was shameful. And he went on to say that a lot of these illegal immigrants are criminals and we have to stop them, and he said he did this for his country — because it’s going downhill, because of all these illegal immigrants.
“What [Richardson] should have done was say, ‘Thank you for shopping with me.’ That’s all he had to do.”
RIILE, the organization to which Richardson belongs, was formed in 2006 by Terry Gorman of Lincoln. RIILE seeks enforcement of current immigration laws; supports any new legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration; opposes guest-worker programs; and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Gorman took exception to Richardson’s actions.
“There’s no way I can defend what he did. It definitely isn’t the policy of RIILE to go around and use your RIILE card to intimidate people,” said Gorman in a phone interview. “That’s not something that RIILE would promote … to make citizen’s arrest.”
According to Gorman, Richardson “has done that to other people and he’s refused their business if they have no Social Security number. Then he doesn’t sell his products to them.”
Richardson said he has asked for customers’ Social Security numbers if they do not speak English well, and estimated that he has done so “fifteen or twenty times.” At first, Richardson said he has refused to do business with some people who declined to show him a Social Security card. He subsequently denied that, and said he had asked people for their cards “maybe 10 times in the last five years.”
Though Richardson said it is his legal right to demand a Social Security card — it may not be.
Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Richardson appears to have violated a state law (R.I. General Law 6-13-17) related to “unfair sales practices.”
The law states, “Unless otherwise required by federal law, no person shall require that a consumer of goods or services disclose a Social Security number incident to the sale of consumer goods or services.”
There are several exceptions, including that insurance companies and institutions licensed by the state or federal government for financial services may require applicants to disclose their Social Security number. Consumers may also be required to disclose their Social Security numbers when applying for a credit card or seeking health care or pharmaceutical related services.
Brown said the law, “designed to protect consumers’ rights, generally prohibits businesses from requiring customers to disclose their Social Security number. The law contains both criminal and civil penalties.” In Brown’s opinion, “by demanding that this customer present his Social Security card, the owner clearly ran afoul of that law.”
Brown said Richardson’s actions “also appear to clearly violate state laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in places of public accommodation. There can be little question that this customer was singled out for discriminatory and humiliating treatment based on his national origin. Store owners have a legal obligation to serve all customers, and threatening to arrest a customer for speaking Spanish and for refusing to show a Social Security card is precisely the type of discriminatory conduct that the state’s ‘public accommodations’ law was meant to bar.”
Genao said, “Somehow, we have to keep on educating people. When it comes to this man [Richardson], does he have any children or grandchildren? Does he let them see anyone who is not their kind? Or does ask them for their documents before he can let them play together?”
kziner@projo.com
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