Open mouth, insert foot?
Controversial U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) has once again managed to infuriate and insult, a large part of the of the American public with another ill-advised, racially-tinged remarks.
Omar, who first tweeted now-deleted anti-Israel remarks, including stating that American politicians are bought off by the pro-Israel lobby, all-but tweeted that Latinos are victims of “racism” in a Trump “merit based” immigration system.
Her tweet, which has also since been deleted, seems to infer that Latinos and are not capable of immigrating to the U.S. and succeeding on their own ‘merits.’
A "merit based" immigration policy is fueled by racism towards the Latinx community. Our immigration policies shouldn't be based on discrimination, fear, or bigotry. We should welcome immigrants to our country and offer a simple way to citizenship."- Rep. Ilhan Omar
Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) was quick to pounce on Omar, saying that she and Democrats don’t believe “Hispanic immigrants” can qualify for “skill-based legal immigration.”
“As the son of a Cuban immigrant whose Dad came to get a math degree & become a computer programmer, I’m troubled that Dems seem to believe Hispanic immigrants can’t qualify for skills-based legal immigration,” said Cruz “Bringing in more scientists, engineers & doctors is good for US jobs.
President Trump has already released his immigration reform policy, which includes a merit-based system for potential migrants to earn entry into the United States based on their education and skill levels.
Meanwhile, Rep. Omar’s staunchest allies in the U.S. Congress, Reps, Rashida Tlaib (D) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), both of whom have come out in defense of her past controversial tweets, are now silent over her Latino “merit-based” tweet.
House Leadership, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), denounced Omar's past Israeli tweets, so it will be interesting to see if they will also condemn her immigration tweet.
