Hertz apologizes after US citizen from Puerto Rico was denied car rental
Hertz, the car rental chain, has apologized after an employee refused to give a Puerto Rican man his prepaid reserved car at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport because he presented an island-issued driver’s license instead of a passport.
The man, Humberto Marchand, answered and described part of the incident at the Hertz counter in Kenner, La., and shared it on Twitter on May 10. It was widely viewed while others shared similar stories about how Americans often don’t realize that people born in Puerto Rico, a US commonwealth, are US citizens.
Mr. Marchand began intake while the interaction with the Hertz employee was already underway, and apparently after she applied for his passport instead of allowing him to use his Puerto Rico-issued driver’s license.
“It’s a valid ID,” Mr. Marchand says repeatedly as he films. “It’s a prepaid reservation.”
“Do you want me to call the police?” says the employee.
“Yes, please call the police,” he says. The woman pulls a cell phone out of her pocket and starts talking to communicate the location of the Hertz counter.
“Call the police. I’m not doing anything illegal,” says Mr. Marchand.
“Yes, you are,” she replies.
He says she is denying “an American citizen” his reservation, which was prepaid with his credit card.
“Do you know that my Puerto Rico driver’s license is just as valid as a Louisiana driver’s license?” he adds.
When asked about the incident on Monday, Hertz said in a statement that the employee had not followed the policy. It said the company will accept Puerto Rican driver’s licenses from customers renting in the United States, without the need for a passport.
“We deeply regret that our policy has not been followed and have apologized to Mr Marchand and refunded his rent,” the company said. “We are strengthening our policies with employees to ensure they are understood and followed consistently across all of our locations.”
Mr. Marchand’s story was picked up by national news organizations and Spanish-language media. In a widely shared interview with David Begnaud, a national correspondent for “CBS Mornings,” Mr. Marchand that the Kenner police officer who responded to the Hertz employee’s call, Mr. Marchand said he would call “Border Patrol” if he didn’t leave the premises.
Mr. Marchand, whose LinkedIn profile describes him as a former United States federal probation officer, not immediately available on Monday. There was no response to email questions sent to Kenner police.
People born in Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, have the same U.S. citizenship as people born in the 50 states under Section 302 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The people have a representative in the House of Representatives and a say in presidential nominations, although they cannot vote in general elections without residency in one of the 50 states.
The experience of Mr. Marchand, whose driver’s license was in English and Spanish, is a recurring problem in the United States, according to Mr. Begnaud’s report. A 2017 poll found that only a slim majority of Americans realize that Puerto Ricans are US citizens.
Mr. Begnaud’s report elicited similar stories from other U.S. citizens born in Puerto Rico about their own encounters with private sector employers and government agencies.