Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) once told a critic that he should be deported back to his home country and her close ally Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) used similar language, it has been discovered.
Omar was in a conversation on Twitter with another user, who was arguing that immigrants should respect American culture and the Judeo-Christian tradition in the country.
“Lol, now that’s just silly,” Omar responded.
“If I travel to Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or Thailand, I’m expected to respect their culture. No?” the user said.
“The only difference is this is America and there is freedom of religion. We must except [sic] and respect!” Omar wrote back.
“I concur that we respect ALL religions but they must respect our culture if they want acceptance,” the user replied.
Omar then said, “Totally agree.”
However, another user chimed in, prompting the person Omar had been speaking to to write: “We are expected to boy to them whilst the twist our culture. It’s [expletive]!”
Omar responded, writing, “We are citizens & can’t be deported, why don’t we deport you to where ever you came from.”
The conversation was about an article about a Maine mayor saying that immigrants should “accept our culture and leave your culture at the door.” He was referring specifically to Somali immigrants after over 1,000 arrived in the small town of Lewiston since the first arrivals in early 2001.
He also said at one point that immigrants shouldn’t “insert your culture, which obviously isn’t working, into ours, which does.”
@jworiah1 @stevepratico @bemetor5 @somalisijui we are citizens & can’t be deported, why don’t we deport you to where ever you came from
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 5, 2012
In another portion of the discussion, Omar wrote: “Totally disagree America is a melting pot of cultures. Our values is [sic] one of inclusion and acceptance!” She also said: “Most people I know keep and maintain their culture. [D]on’t expect us to change either. We have as much right to be here as you.”
In 2015, Tlaib took to Twitter to say of then-candidate Donald Trump, “Deport this [expletive]!”
She was reacting to Trump’s call to limit Muslim migrants from entering the United States.
In another missive during the same year, she wrote that, “Wallah someone deport these unAmerican ISISlike armed bikers.”
Wallah someone deport these unAmerican ISISlike armed bikers. #PHXmosque. Because #NotMyAmerica to allow them to intimidate fellow Americans
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 29, 2015
The resurfaced tweets came after some lawmakers and media outlets criticized Trump for telling the so-called “Squad” to return to the countries from which they “originally came,” where “governments are a complete and total catastrophe.”
He suggested that congresswomen, who he didn’t name, should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it’s done.”
He appeared to be referring to Omar, Tlaib, and Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Out of the four, only Omar was born outside the United States.
Since those July 14 missives Trump has attacked the “Squad,” alleging they dislike America.
“It’s up to them. Go wherever they want, or they can stay. But they should love our country. They shouldn’t hate our country. I have clips right here. The most vile, horrible statements about our country, about Israel, about others,” Trump told reporters on July 16. “It’s up to them. They can do what they want. They can leave they can stay but they should love our country and they should work for the good of our country.”
Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. was among those reacting to the resurfaced posts by Omar and Tlaib, writing on Twitter late Tuesday: “That’s awkward. It’s like their whole narrative just disappeared… but you all know no one will cover it.”
