NM, Ariz. reps in immigration spat

House kills resolution by Lujan Grisham

WASHINGTON — A spat over illegal immigration between New Mexico Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, spilled onto the House floor Tuesday when the chamber killed a resolution by Lujan Grisham that condemned Gosar’s attempt to have U.S. Capitol Police arrest “illegal aliens” at President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 State of the Union speech.

Soon after the 231-187 House vote to table the New Mexico congresswoman’s resolution, Gosar tweeted a statement that said his request of Capitol Police was “enough to trigger” Lujan Grisham and caused her “to run to her Hispanic Caucus for solace and condemnation of me.”

Lujan Grisham, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and dozens of other Democratic members of Congress had invited “Dreamers,” whose parents had brought them to the U.S. illegally, to attend the president’s speech with them last week. Gosar said that anyone in the Capitol illegally that night (guests were required to submit their Social Security numbers for clearance) should be arrested.

On Tuesday, she introduced a resolution that described Gosar’s request as “inappropriate actions that intimidated State of the Union guests and discredited the U.S. House of Representatives.” It also said Gosar “abused his power in an attempt to interfere with and politicize the U.S. Capitol Police’s efforts to provide for a safe, secure, and open environment during the State of the Union.”

Gosar, in a statement posted on Twitter, did not back down.

“I will not be intimidated by her left-wing nonsense and efforts to silence my speech,” Gosar said.

But Lujan Grisham spokesman Ron Eckstein said the Arizona Republican missed the point.

“She’s not condemning his free speech, just his racist stereotyping,” Eckstein said.