Last week, reports erupted over comments made by Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) at an event in Mexico.
She expressed her support for Guatemala first, which clearly upset plenty of conservatives.
Now there are calls, rightfully so, to have her removed from Congress.
While Ramirez was speaking at the Panamerican Congress in Mexico City, she told the crowd, "I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American.”
She also made scathing allegations against the United States for the purpose of scoring some political points with what was obviously a more liberal audience.
As I stated when I initially reported her comments, you can and should be proud of your country if you migrated here, but your loyalty has to be to America first, especially if you are serving in Congress.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) responded to the speech, “Are you comfortable with this,” and I can tell you, no, I am not. Not at all.
Attacks against her came fast and furious, and that included the Department of Homeland Security, which posted, “We know where her allegiances lie, adding, there is “no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.”
Ramirez immediately played the race card, saying this was “a weak attempt to silence my dissent and invalidate my patriotic criticism of the nativist, white supremacist, authoritarians in government.”
The leftist media also went after the GOP and the Trump administration for this line of attack.
For instance, The New Republic did a piece on the attacks with the headline, “DHS Stoops to Shocking Low in Racist Attack on Latina Congresswoman.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) responded to the speech by Ramirez, calling for her removal from office, and as someone who also migrated to this country, his statement carries significant weight.
He stated, "I was born in Cuba and exiled from my homeland shortly after the communist takeover.
"Everything I am, I owe to this exceptional country of limitless opportunities that paved the way for a Cuban refugee like me to become a firefighter, fire chief, city manager, county commissioner, county mayor, and yes, even a member of Congress."
I agree with him 100% and I do not take Ramirez’s comments lightly. She not only spoke ill of our country on foreign soil, but she openly stated that her loyalty is not to America first. That, as I stated above, is unacceptable, and I fully support his move to have her removed from Congress.
