A woman in Jonesboro, Georgia, called 911 after overhearing two young individuals conversing in Spanish at a local supermarket. The incident, captured on video in July and shared by content creator Marina Fisher on TikTok, quickly gained traction online, reigniting discussions around racial and linguistic discrimination in the United States.
In the video, the woman can be heard saying, "In America, we speak English, thank you. I'm calling 911," before contacting authorities to report, "there are some illegals here." Unbeknownst to her, neither of the young women she confronted were undocumented.
Marina Fisher, who documented the confrontation, is a U.S. citizen of Mexican heritage living in Houston, Texas. Her friend, accompanying her at the time, is from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens by birth since 1917, requiring no visa or special permission to reside in the mainland United States.
The altercation took place at the Goodwill store on 138th Street in Jonesboro, located in northern Georgia. In a follow-up video, Fisher explained that she and her friend were in the electronics section, discussing a "nice" grill set when the woman approached them with hostility, demanding they speak English.
"It was shocking. My mind was racing to process the situation and figure out how to handle it with dignity, so I wouldn't seem out of control and get kicked out," Fisher recounted, visibly shaken by the experience.
In another part of the video, Fisher asserted, "My family has been in the U.S. since 1890. I'm proudly Mexican, but I'm also American," emphasizing that she has never lived in Mexico.
This incident has sparked widespread outrage on social media and in the press, viewed as yet another instance of the racial and xenophobic tensions that continue to plague various parts of the United States.
A comparable situation occurred on July 11 at a Walmart in New Mexico, where ICE agents used a taser to detain a Mexican immigrant, an action that faced significant backlash online for its excessive use of force.
In June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted on social media, urging citizens to assist in locating and apprehending undocumented immigrants.
Understanding Discrimination and Xenophobia in the United States
What sparked the 911 call in the Georgia supermarket?
The call was triggered by a woman overhearing two young individuals speaking Spanish, which led her to wrongly assume they were undocumented immigrants.
What was the public reaction to the incident?
The incident provoked significant outrage on social media and in the media as an example of ongoing racial and linguistic discrimination issues in the U.S.
Are Puerto Ricans required to have a visa to live in the U.S. mainland?
No, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth and do not need a visa or special permission to live in the U.S. mainland.