Tucker Carlson: Ilhan Omar Represents 'America's Failed Immigration System'
Fox News host Tucker Carlson railed against Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Friday, saying she exemplifies all that is wrong with the current U.S. immigration system.
“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, herself a symbol of America’s failed immigration system if there ever was one. Someone who hates this country coming here at public expense, spent yesterday demanding the abolition of ICE, the decriminalization of illegal immigration itself, and an end to all deportation programs,” Carlson said on his show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Carlson’s remarks came after a public appearance by Omar on Thursday in which she sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s newly unveiled immigration plan, calling it “devastating” for millions of immigrants.
Trump’s plan, referred to as a “merit-based” immigration overhaul, details comprehensive border security improvements and seeks to better balance the system by which America weighs “employment & skill,” familial ties and “humanitarian” needs in issuing visas.
The president says it would provide Americans with a better deal on immigration, preventing the nation from being taken advantage of by those who he says provide little value to the U.S. and reap great reward by being in the country.
Omar, a Somali refugee who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000, said that the plan is Trump’s attempt to “dehumanize” immigrants and “call them ‘animals.'”
I saw Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) speak on immigration today. The line that got the most applause? “Abolish ICE.” Repeatedly during her speech, she talked about the supposed criminalization of immigration. @capitalresearch pic.twitter.com/PukUyK61GM
— Ashley Rae Goldenberg (@Communism_Kills) May 16, 2019
The freshman representative went on to renew previous calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and halt the imprisonment and deportation of illegal immigrants, Fox News reports.
“What we are asking for is very simple,” Omar said. “We need to make sure that we cut, and not put increases on spending on detention facilities. We need to stop using DHS as a slush fund.”
“We need to abolish ICE and end all inhumane deportation and detention programs. We need to fight back against the criminalization of immigrants and those crossing the border. We need to create a fair and accessible path to legal status and citizenship for all undocumented people in the United States,” she concluded.
Carlson has often gone after Omar, calling her ungrateful for her negative rhetoric on the U.S. immigration system, according to the Washington Examiner.
He went on to say Friday that the congresswoman’s criticism of more stringent immigration policy as “inhumane” are a disingenuous attempt to paint her opponents as heartless.
“She demands open borders, the unlimited arrival of anyone who wants to come to America whether they have anything to contribute or not and, by the way, you get to pay for it,” Carlson said. “And if you don’t want to, you are a bigot.”
In fact, Carlson argued that similar claims by most congressional Democrats are disingenuous. He wagers that it is all an attempt by the American left to flood the nation with more electoral supporters.
“You know what this is really about, of course. It’s not about civil rights. That’s a joke,” Carlson said. “It’s about money and power. Their money, their power. The Left has aligned with business interests that profit from cheap, obedient workers.”
“Low-skilled immigrants have a harder time assimilating into the American mainstream. They stay poorer. They learn English more slowly. They’re more likely to remain an ethnic underclass. All of which make them much more likely to vote Democratic long term. That’s the point, obviously,” he argued.
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