Knowing What Is in America

Dave Bangert at the Layfayette [IN] Journal & Courier:

CVS officials say they are investigating a claim by a Purdue University engineering student who said he was denied the purchase of an over-the-counter cold medicine because employees at a store on Northwestern Avenue, across from Mackey Arena, looked at his Puerto Rican driver’s license and told him he needed a valid U.S. ID, before pressing him about his immigration status.

The situation, which happened Oct. 25, turned into a viral social media moment when the mother of Purdue junior Jose Guzman Payano told the story in a post that had been shared more than 5,500 times by Saturday.

Arlene Payano Burgos’ point, writing from her home in Cayey, Puerto Rico: Her son “is, in fact, a United States citizen.”

Nearly a year ago, Diana M Alba-Soular reported at the Las Cruces Sun-News:

Gavin Clarkson, a recent candidate for New Mexico secretary of state, experienced a one-of-our-50-is-missing moment earlier this month when applying for a marriage license in the nation's capital.

Clarkson, who lives in Las Cruces, and his then-fiancée visited the District of Columbia Courts Marriage Bureau on Nov. 20 to apply for a marriage license.

But, once there, the couple encountered a small problem, Clarkson said. The clerk wouldn't accept Clarkson's driver's license — from New Mexico — as proof of his identity. Rather, the clerk, who mistakenly believed Clarkson was a foreign citizen — said he would have to provide an international passport to get the marriage license.

After Clarkson objected, the clerk went to check with a supervisor, who confirmed Clarkson would need a passport.

"You know you are from flyover country when you are applying for a marriage license, give them your New Mexico driver's license, and they come back and say: 'My supervisor says we cannot accept international driver's licenses. Do you have a New Mexico passport?'" Clarkson posted on Facebook recently.

d Speaking with the Sun-News about the incident, Clarkson said the clerk went back to check a second time about whether she could accept a New Mexico driver's license as proof of identify. After that, the personnel finally concluded New Mexico was in fact a U.S. state and accepted his driver's license along with the application.

Such things happen so often that "One of our 50 is Missing" is a regular feature of New Mexico Magazine.