Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar called on the U.S. government to stop detaining illegal immigrants indefinitely because of its “cruelty.”
“This should never be the case,” Omar wrote Thursday in response to an article about a Georgia town that has more illegal immigrant detainees than residents. “The cruelty of our immigration system becomes clearer every day. We must stop detaining immigrants and start giving them pathways to citizenship.”
This should never be the case.
The cruelty of our immigration system becomes clearer every day. We must stop detaining immigrants and start giving them pathways to citizenship.https://t.co/TjmjZLl2iy— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 16, 2020
Omar has been a constant critic of President Trump and his immigration policies. She recently denounced Trump for treating illegal immigrants like “criminals.”
The Trump administration’s immigration “policy”: treating immigrants like criminals.@BernieSanders and my’s approach: pathways to citizenship. https://t.co/23mf2BWVzH
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 8, 2020
Omar has also been a vocal critic of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has called for the abolition of the agency. In 2018, she tweeted “Abolish ICE. There is no compromise. Our immigration system is deeply broken. We shouldn’t seek to punish families seeking safety and opportunity. We should create fair and accessible pathways to citizenship.”
Abolish ICE. There is no compromise.
Our immigration system is deeply broken. We shouldn’t seek to punish families seeking safety and opportunity. We should create fair and accessible pathways to citizenship. #MN05 #D5MNForum— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 13, 2018
A 2019 poll concluded that Omar is less popular with voters than ICE. Twenty-five percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the Minnesota Democrat while 42% have a favorable view of ICE.
*story by The Washington Examiner