Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) is circulating a petition for his supporters to sign to deport a fellow member of Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
Gil had previously called on Omar to be deported, arguing she is more loyal to undocumented immigrants in the United States from her native Somalia than to the United States.
The petition and an email circulated by Gill were first reported by Axios.
Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000 after fleeing her native country due to civil war. The Minnesota representative has been the target of Republican insults following her staunch criticism of President Trump during his first administration.
“Friend, 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,” Gill wrote in the email which included a picture of him next to President Trump. As in the past, he criticized Omar for discussing how to evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
“Recently, it came out that Ilhan Omar is hosting free workshops for Somalians, who are in our country illegally, on how to evade ICE and deportation. It could not be more blatant: Ilhan Omar is more loyal to illegal Somalians than she is to the United States, or the office she was elected to,” he added.
Several Democrats criticized the most recent remarks by Gil, a freshman member of the new Congress.
“@SpeakerJohnson, get control of your caucus before we have to take other actions. This is demeaning & embarrassing,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) said in a post on X. “We all need to be better than this shit. I expect an answer today.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) also raised concerns with the GOP member’s comments.
“It’s disgusting that Republicans are attempting to raise money by threatening to deport a US citizen just because they disagree with her,” she wrote on X.
“Ilhan Omar is a tireless advocate for her district, a fierce protector of our democracy, and I know these fascist threats won’t keep her down.”
