'Whitexicans' restaurant raises eyebrows in Queens. The owner says the name is satire.

"Others said they were offended. But the restaurant, whose name is a mashup of white and Mexicans, is real, and opened earlier this month on Northern Boulevard in the heart of Jackson Heights. Cristina Furlong, a longtime neighborhood resident and member of Community Board 3, wished the restaurant well on Facebook but urged the owners to change the name, given heightened immigration enforcement and "people self-deporting.""

"The restaurant owners said the name is satirical and meant to poke fun at notions of racial superiority. And some locals have waved off the controversy as a nonissue. Even still, the discord underscores how even a trip for tacos (or sea bass ceviche) can be fraught in the current political climate of heightened anxiety over immigration and race. According to some authorities, the word "Whitexicans" emerged in recent years."

""Whitexicans, the meaning for us is that everybody belongs here," Gomez Bermudez said. "We don't care who you are, your sexuality, your gender, your race or anything.""

Whitexicans, a new Mexican restaurant in Jackson Heights, opened amid social media scrutiny and mixed local reactions. Hundreds of commenters on Facebook and Reddit questioned the name or said they were offended, while some neighbors defended the business. A community board member urged a name change because of heightened immigration enforcement and fear of ICE. Owners describe the name as satirical and inclusive, intended to poke fun at racial superiority and signal that everyone belongs. The controversy reflects broader anxieties about immigration, race, and intra-Mexican tensions between indigenous and lighter-skinned groups.

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