S.C. - Taco Cid 'How To Catch An Illegal Immigrant' T-Shirt Allegedly Worn By Employe

Taco Cid 'How To Catch An Illegal Immigrant' T-Shirt Allegedly Worn By Employee

Posted: 01/07/2013 5:04 pm EST | Updated: 01/07/2013 8:21 pm EST
Huffington Post

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Taco Cid, a Mexican restaurant in Columbia, South Carolina, is under fire for serving up tacos with a side of racism.

A photo posted to Twitter on Sunday shows an alleged Taco Cid employee wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "How to catch an illegal immigrant" and an image of a wooden trap with tacos used as bait. Corey Hutchins, a local reporter for the Free Times, first tweeted the image, according to the Palmetto Public Record.

Taco Cid declined to comment to The Huffington Post on Monday, but an employee told ThinkProgress that Taco Cid employees do in fact wear the T-shirt, which is also for sale to patrons.

Unfortunately, racism is a common ingredient at some restaurants.

A recent North Carolina State University survey found that 40 percent of waiters admitted to treating customers differently based on their race. Of the waiters surveyed, 90 percent said they had participated in or overhead racially-charged conversations among their co-workers.

Taco Cid isn't the fist small business to find itself in hot water after making controversial political statements.

In New Jersey, a clothing store owner faced criticism after displaying images that depicted President Barack Obama as a witch doctor. At Springdale Cleaners in Cincinnati, Ohio, owner Paul Dehler found himself under fire for returning laundered clothing to customers on wire hangers that featured pro-life messages.

UPDATE: 5:40 p.m. -- After publication, Nathan Sloan, who identified himself as the photographer, told HuffPost that the person wearing the Taco Cid T-shirt in the photo was an employee standing at the restaurant's front register.

Taco Cid 'How To Catch An Illegal Immigrant' T-Shirt Allegedly Worn By Employee (PHOTO)