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Family Outraged After College Student With ID From Puerto Rico Couldn't Buy Cold Meds

“Whatever triggered her to discriminate against my son embodies exactly what is wrong in the United States of America today," the student's mother said.

A Purdue University engineering student said he denied the purchase of over-the-counter cold medicine by a CVS employee who refused to accept his Puerto Rican driver's license and U.S. passport as valid identification and questioned his immigration status.

Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth.

José Guzmán Payano, a junior at Purdue, went to his local CVS store to purchase some Mucinex on Oct. 25. When a CVS employee asked him for his identification, he provided her with his driver’s license, which was from Puerto Rico. According to Guzmán Payano, the employee repeatedly told him that the store could not accept his identification, then asked him for his visa.

Guzmán Payano said he tried explaining that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., but the clerk demanded to see a visa to verify his immigration status before he could purchase his cold medicine.

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