NEW ORLEANS — May 16, 2023
A large rental car company has apologized to a Puerto Rican man after denying him a car he paid for at the New Orleans International Airport.
Humberto Marchand traveled to the city and paid for a rental car through Hertz ahead of his trip.
When he arrived, he was denied the car after the employee demanded to see a passport.
Marchand is a United States citizen and did not have his passport on him because his flight was domestic. Puerto Rico is also a United States territory.
Marchand said the Hertz employee called the police and was advised to file a report with the Kenner Police Department by the responding officer.
He says he was hoping the responding officer would confirm with the staff that his identification was valid, but instead, he says he was asked to leave the premises and, while doing so, says he overheard the officer suggest calling border authorities.
In a statement, the Kenner Police Department said in part, "The body camera footage of the officer from the incident and states the officer never said Border Patrol, ICE, Immigration or anything of that nature. The officer was only there for the disturbance, Hertz employee called police to report a disturbance."
