Thread: ''Illegal Alien" Halloween costume sparks ire

''Illegal Alien" Halloween costume sparks ire

Last Update: 10/16 6:47 pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California immigrant rights group has asked Target stores 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 an e-mail to the Minneapolis-based retailer Friday calling the costume "distasteful, mean-spirited, and ignorant of social stigmas and current debate on immigration reform."

The costume is featured on Target's and other web sites.

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.

http://www.sandiego6.com/news/state/sto ... FXl1w.cspx

The costume features the mask of an alien . . .

I saw this on TV. The mask was like the area 51 SPACE ALIEN full head mask.

It was really funny.

But some people just have no sense of humor.

Related:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-174717-halloween.html

Funny in a weird way. Lots of irony in this costume.

You can see the picture at this link:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-a ... 1573.story

Target's "Illegal Alien" Costume Causes Outrage

KTLA News
9:51 PM PDT, October 16, 2009
October 16, 2009)

LOS ANGELES-- An immigrants' 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 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.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-a ... 1573.story

I'm not buying one myself but I am sure other vendors will fill the gap.

Some customers say they will refuse to shop at Target Stores until the costume is removed from the site and an apology is issued.

I quit shopping at Target a long long time ago... they are owned by a company out of FRANCE. They have done many many things I don't agree with... they support NOTHING American.

Believe it or not there were Target stores in Canada before I became aware of them here in the US... I didn't agree with their policies when my main residence was in Canada so I have never set foot in one of their stores here in NC.

If they issue an apology to special interests, my decision to not spend my money there will have been well founded. *** They would NOT allow Canadians to sell poppies on their property for Rememberance Day ( Veteran's Day).***

im not buying it but that costume looks kinda neat

Kind of sensitve, are we? The truth hurts.