A cashier at a Naperville, Illinois convenience store has found himself out of a job after a video in which he questioned customers’ citizenship went viral. The incident involved several children who were riding their bikes. When one of the bikes broke down, the children decided to wait near Bucky’s Convenience Store for help.
One of the children decided to pop into Bucky’s Convenience Store for a quick snack. At first, everything seemed normal and the cashier, according to the children, appeared to be friendly. Then the cashier began to ask questions about two of the children who were waiting outside.
At one point, one of the children, Carolina Buitron, acknowledged that they “came from Mexico.” The clerk then began to talk about “undocumented people” and pointed to his chest, saying “I’m an American.” The clerk then got into an argument with a woman, asking her if she was a citizen and at one point stated “don’t you know the rules? They need to go back to their country.”
This prompted one woman to threaten summoning police. The clerk then claimed that ICE would come and that the woman was “in the wrong country.” After the video went viral, dozens of people showed up to protest outside of the store. The standoff also prompted Buchanan Energy, the parent company of Bucky’s, to fire the employee.
The incident occurred as tensions over immigration, heritage, and race continue to worsen. President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm last week, tweeting that members of “the Squad,” a group of female congresswomen, should go back to their home countries. The women are people of color.
This week, attendees at a Trump rally chanted for President Trump to “send her back” in reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar. Omar was born in Somalia but has since become a naturalized citizen. Trump disavowed the chant, stating “I was not happy with it. I disagree with it.”
