GOP lawmaker urged arrests at Trump’s address
Ariz. official’s tweet targeted young immigrants at State of the Union
|
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers and activists frustrated with the pace at which Congress is moving on protections for so-called Dreamers often point to fears of deportation. Stories of immigrants being arrested at courthouses while seeking protections from crimes, or meeting with officers to apply for legal residency have only stoked those fears.
Now they may also have to fear the chambers of Congress, with one conservative lawmaker confirming their anxieties Tuesday night at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., tweeted that he contacted the U.S. Capitol Police and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to ask law enforcement to consider checking the identification of all attending the State of the Union address. The hardline conservative called for arresting “any illegal aliens in attendance.”
“Of all the places where the Rule of Law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress. Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported,” he continued in a series of tweets.
The move was in response to the decision by as many as 50 Democratic lawmakers who have reportedly invited the young immigrants and other immigrants to President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, DMich., brought Cindy Garcia, the wife of Jorge Garcia, a 39-year-old father who was brought to the U.S. as a child and lived here for more than 30 years before being deported to Mexico.
“The Garcia family’s story is heartbreaking and infuriating. It is both a symptom of a long-broken immigration system and a new rash immigration policy that does not recognize the difference between a hardworking family man and a criminal. This must change,” Dingell said in a statement.
This isn’t the first time Gosar’s immigration views have surfaced.
He is known for posting studies on social media claiming that immigrants brought to this country illegally as children are responsible for sizable percentages of crime in Arizona.