Sorry, I confused the issue by even mentioning chicano at all. Yes, that’s for someone of Mexican heritage.
To clarify - on the East Coast, ‘‘Hispanic’’ seems to be offensive. A lot of the population out here is from the Caribbean so I’m not sure, given Diosa’s explanation, why ‘‘Hispanic’’ is such a no-no. But it certainly didn’t go over well at that training seminar.
My overall point was just to agree with Manda Jo that it really is regional, but I think Latino is universally safe.
Giving it the best possible reading, one could say that the word “Hispanic” was used to refer to the girl’s origin and not her race or ethnicity.
For example, what if the poster had said that her ex husband’s Eastern European girlfriend was working illegally with her papers? Everyone would understand that “Eastern European” was being used to indicate that the girl in question was a foreign national.
Or if the poster had said that her ex husband’s Chinese girlfriend was working illegally? It’s the same thing; the reasonable understanding is that the girl was a Chinese national.
Even though many native-born Americans might refer to themselves as “Chinese” in the appropriate context.
Except she never said “working illegally”. The girl could have needed a stolen identity to evade wage garnishment, or to hide from an ex-boyfriend, or to avoid a credit check. The word “hispanic” was used to mean “and therefore is illegal and needs to use another identity to legally work”.
One more comment on Hispanic vs Latino. I agree that Latino is safer, but while it isn’t quite offensive here in Texas, it would come across as weird: here, Latino sounds like someone is trying real hard to be politically correct but doesn’t actually know any brown people. It’s a book word, not a life word.
His then ex hispanic girlfriend was a lesbian?
Lets see.
The girl/lady stole someones identity to work. Not to apparently work a financial scam of some sort but just to work.
AND she is “hispanic”.
Neither one is damning on its own. But the combination? My money is on she’s “illegal” (or was till the marriage).
Of course I guess one could argue a brown person is more likely to be working a scam or evading wage garnishment than trying to evade la emigra…
right, which reminds me: Crazed Palestinian Gunman Angered By Stereotypes
Dude, it’s “la migra.”
No. “Hispanic” comes from “Hispania,” the Roman and medieval name for Iberia (now Spain plus Portugal). The Portuguese referent fell out of later usages, after the consolidation of the kingdom of Spain. “Hispania” came to be rendered “España.”
“Hispaniola” basically just means island of Spain (in a contracted form).
In modern times “Hispanic” has been understood to mean Spaniards plus all New World populations with Spanish colonial history. You can see how this determinative position for the colonizing culture could be politically incorrect in some circles.
“Latinoamericano,” or “Latino,” specifically excludes Spaniards, includes Portuguese-speaking Brazilians, and generally allows for an African heritage which isn’t included in some other formulations.
Just make sure you say “Latina” for women!
But if you’re dealing with individuals, it’s best to know specifics. I think Latinos appreciate your knowing the difference between a Cuban and a Honduran about as much as “Euros” appreciate your knowing the difference between a Dane and a Czech.
Correcting this misperception: people do not automatically become legal when they marry a US citizen. Spouses still have to qualify under the law, including the rules regarding returning to their country of origin for either a year or ten years if they have spent any time in the US illegally. They still have to pass a background check. They still have to pass the health requirements. US citizen spouses still have to demonstrate financial means.
There is no magic wand that confers legal status at the moment of marriage.
I would say it’s a pretty reasonable reading of the post. But anyway, imagine it had read as follows:
Wouldn’t you infer that the girl was working illegally?
Or how about this:
Again, wouldn’t you infer that the girl had been working illegally?
Well duh! One’s a dog and the other’s a piece of paper I use to pay my rent.
For what it’s worth, “Hispanic” can include Brazillians. As you point out yourself, words can change in meaning over time.
I still don’t understand how her being an illegal immigrant is relevant to anything. She stole the OP’s SSN and the OP was asking how she would go about dealing with this problem. Who cares whether the identity theft was done by a citizen or an alien? Someone said that if a non-citizen steals your SSN they won’t be able to use it for much, as opposed to if a citizen stole it. Why? What about being a citizen makes it easier to commit the crime of identity theft in the US? I’m still confused.
Well, perhaps you know something about that. I know some Luso-Brazilians are emphatic to the contrary.
Well I know what I read in the dictionary. 
Well probably the fact that she worked at Red Lobster as opposed to Wendy’s is also irrelevant. But still, it’s part of the story. If the poster had said “foreign” instead of “hispanic,” I doubt anyone would have cared.
I think if I knew the persons specific origin I would just use that, assuming it was relevant. But if I had to describe a stranger physically I might use either generic term, since origin in that case us unknown and irrelevant. I don’t know what the proper usage is but in my mind “Latino” sounds classier than “Hispanic” for some reason. My brother just calls everyone “Mexicans” which makes me roll my eyes.
Well, the citizenship status of the girlfriend does affect why she used the SSN. If you’re a citizen, you don’t need to borrow someone else’s SSN to get a job. It’s possible that this woman of Latino descent did nothing more nefarious with her SSN than pay into her Social Security account. If a citizen steals your SSN, then they are inescapably up to no good.
I have the urge to go to Red Lobster now and get those delicious biscuits. Maybe this is all a stealth marketing campaign by Red Lobster. Is it Endless Crab Leg week or something?
One could equally validly argue the exact opposite actually. Seeing as how brown people have lived in these United States far longer than white people.
Part of my point is that Hispanic doesn’t indicate a nationality or even a set of them. Asian would be similar.