DALLAS – A pizza chain has been hit with death threats and hate mail after offering to accept Mexican pesos, becoming another flashpoint in the nation’s debate over immigrants.
“This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico,” one e-mail read. “Quit catering to the damn illegal Mexicans,” demanded another.
Dallas-based Pizza Patron said it was not trying to inject itself into a political debate about illegal immigration when it posted signs this week saying “Aceptamos pesos” – or “We accept pesos” – at its 59 stores across Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California.
Pizza Patron spokesman Andy Gamm said the company was just trying to sell more pizza to its customers, 60 percent of whom are Hispanic.
Wal-Mart, H-E-B supermarkets and other American businesses in towns along the Mexican border accept pesos. And some businesses along the northern border accept Canadian dollars.
The difference here is that many of the pizza joints are far from the border, in places such as Dallas, more than 400 miles away, and Denver, more than 700 miles.
“If people would understand that the majority of our customers are Hispanic, then it might make more sense for a company to sell pizza for pesos,” Gamm said. “It doesn’t make sense in Connecticut. And it doesn’t make sense in North Dakota or in Maine. But it makes perfect sense here in Dallas, in Phoenix, in Denver – areas far from the border that have significant Hispanic populations.”
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