Several Presidio, Texas residents, including the mayor, are outraged after a U.S. Customs and Border employee hung a sign outside his home in the border town that said his candy was reserved for “American families.”
The words “SOLO LAS FAMILIAS AMERICANAS RECIBIRAN DULCES,” translated to “only American families will receive candy,” in red and blue lettering greeted Presidio trick-or-treaters, according to a photo submitted to mySA.com by a resident who asked to remain anonymous.
The sign was hung outside the Big Bend Sector employee’s residence within a housing complex where CBP officers live.
“I got pissed, that’s the first time I had seen something like that in Presidio,” the resident said, adding that the sign was removed Halloween night.
The CBP issued an email statement on the incident, saying the agency “regrets that an employee chose to post the sign in question at his residence during Halloween.”
“The sign does not reflect the opinion of this agency. We respect all people regardless of their culture, nationality or origin. We apologize for any harm this incident may have created in our relationship with the community,” the statement said.
Further action on whether the employee will be reprimanded has not been determined, CBP Public Affairs Specialist Bill Brooks said.
The border town of 4,000 — 82.7 percent of which is Hispanic — maintains an amicable relationship with Ojinaga, its Mexican “sister city,” Mayor John Ferguson said in a Facebook post.
“I always cherish being able to experience the many festive occasions in our sister city of Ojinaga […] no one has ever told me I couldn’t because I am a U.S. citizen,” he captioned a photo of the sign. “By the same token, I want to encourage everyone in our community to continue to treat visitors with open hearts and open arms, as we would hope they would do the same for us in their homes.”
Resident Laurie Holman said the “sign has put a black eye on our relationship with” Mexico and the Border Patrol.
“This person shows incredible insensitivity and racism at its worst,” she said.
