A House Republican is doubling down on his call to deport Somali American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) with a fundraising email urging supporters to sign a petition to that effect, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's one of the most graphic examples to date of the kind of incivility that has gripped Congress in recent years and fueled a historic exodus of members.
Driving the news: In a fundraising email titled "Petition: Deport Ilhan Omar," Rep. Brandon Gill's (R-Texas) campaign wrote that "we should have never let Ilhan Omar into our country."
"And frankly, America would be a much better place if she were to be sent back to Somalia," the email continues, according to a copy obtained by Axios.
"The time has come to arrest and deport Ilhan Omar," it says, "sign my petition and let's send her back to Somalia where she belongs."
Zoom out: Gill homed in last week on a video of Omar advising Somalis in her district that they are "not obligated" to answer questions from ICE and urging them to "learn the laws and prepare yourself."
Gill's fundraising email on Tuesday accused Omar of "facilitating a full-scale invasion of our country," adding, "A normal society would refer to that as treason..."
A spokesperson for Gill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The other side: "It is truly disgusting that members of the Republican party feel emboldened to engage in racist and quite frankly fascist remarks," Omar said in a statement.
- Omar came to the U.S. as a refugee during the Somali Civil War in 1995 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.
- "Representative Gill's attempt to clout chase by threatening to deport a legal US citizen because you disagree with them is directly out of Donald Trump's fascist playbook," she added.
- "I hope Representative Gill learns a thing or two about the value immigrants bring to this country and stop threatening Americans that disagree with him."
>A House Republican is doubling down on his call to deport Somali American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) with a fundraising email urging supporters to sign a petition to that effect, Axios has learned.
>Why it matters: It's one of the most graphic examples to date of the kind of incivility that has gripped Congress in recent years and fueled a historic exodus of members.
>Driving the news: In a fundraising email titled "Petition: Deport Ilhan Omar," Rep. Brandon Gill's (R-Texas) campaign wrote that "we should have never let Ilhan Omar into our country."
>"And frankly, America would be a much better place if she were to be sent back to Somalia," the email continues, according to a copy obtained by Axios.
"The time has come to arrest and deport Ilhan Omar," it says, "sign my petition and let's send her back to Somalia where she belongs."
>Zoom out: Gill homed in last week on a video of Omar advising Somalis in her district that they are "not obligated" to answer questions from ICE and urging them to "learn the laws and prepare yourself."
>Gill's fundraising email on Tuesday accused Omar of "facilitating a full-scale invasion of our country," adding, "A normal society would refer to that as treason..."
>A spokesperson for Gill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
>The other side: "It is truly disgusting that members of the Republican party feel emboldened to engage in racist and quite frankly fascist remarks," Omar said in a statement.
>- Omar came to the U.S. as a refugee during the Somali Civil War in 1995 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.
- "Representative Gill's attempt to clout chase by threatening to deport a legal US citizen because you disagree with them is directly out of Donald Trump's fascist playbook," she added.
- "I hope Representative Gill learns a thing or two about the value immigrants bring to this country and stop threatening Americans that disagree with him."
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