Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, Ariz., fired back at House Democrats Tuesday after the House rejected their attempt to formally condemn him for calling for Capitol Police to arrest illegal immigrants attending the State of the Union address.
“This is no more than a political ploy by the Hispanic Caucus to convince their base that illegal aliens deserve the same constitutional rights as legal citizens,” Gosar said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Everybody knows that you need to provide a Social Security number to attend the State of the Union, and illegal immigrants don’t have that. Either they are sidestepping protocol or they are providing fraudulent Social Security numbers, and neither of those are acceptable.”
Gosar stirred controversy last week when he called for Capitol Police to arrest and deport all illegal immigrants attending Trump’s speech.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., introduced the resolution Tuesday, saying Gosar was targeting guests who have benefitted from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Gosar also posted a statement to Twitter Tuesday clarifying that he never mentioned DACA or Dreamers in his tweets and only “illegal aliens.”
So you want to condemn my free speech, @RepLujanGrisham? pic.twitter.com/TkcATTfzd7
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) February 6, 2018
Lujan Grisham called Gosar’s actions against illegal immigrants an “outright abuse of power” on her Facebook page last week.
“This cruel, racist, and hateful political stunt is intended to intimidate hopeful and determined Dreamers, who are learning, working, and contributing to the country that they love,” Lujan-Grisham wrote in a long post condemning the congressman.
The Democratic congresswoman brought a Dreamer as a guest to the State of the Union address.
Dalia is a Dreamer and guest for #SOTU w/ @RepLujanGrisham. Dalia recently obtained her Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work and is a proud Dreamer from New Mexico. #ProtectDreamers pic.twitter.com/wMT5K1yCF9
— FWD.us (@FWD_us) January 30, 2018
