Rep. Ilhan Omar brushed off a Republican-led push to bar foreign-born Americans from serving in Congress with a terse two-word response after GOP lawmakers unveiled a provocative proposal targeting naturalized citizens on Capitol Hill.
The proposal, unveiled last week by Rep. Nancy Mace, would amend the Constitution to require members of Congress, federal judges and Senate-confirmed officials to be natural-born American citizens.
The rules are the same as those applied to presidents and vice presidents.
When asked by Fox News about the proposed constitutional amendment, the Minnesota Democrat cooly brushed off her suggestion: ‘Good luck to her,’ Omar said.
When championing her legislation, Mace made it clear exactly who she had in mind.
In a blistering post on X announcing the measure, the South Carolina Republican singled out Omar alongside Democratic lawmakers Shri Thanedar and Pramila Jayapal.
All are foreign-born members of Congress who became US citizens after immigrating to America.
‘Ilhan Omar. Shri Thanedar. Pramila Jayapal. All born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth. All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America,’ Mace tweeted.
Ilhan Omar brushed off the Republican proposal to bar foreign-born lawmakers from Congress with a shrugging response of ‘Good luck to her’
Nancy Mace wants to introduce a constitutional amendment requiring members of Congress to be natural-born US citizensm, accusing foreign-born lawmakers of lacking loyalty to the US
‘For too long we have allowed foreign born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day. This constitutional amendment will put an end to it.’
The post immediately sent shockwaves through political circles and reignited long-running conservative attacks against Omar, one of the highest-profile progressive Democrats in Congress and one of the first Muslim women ever elected to the House.
Omar was born in Somalia and became a naturalized US citizen in 2000 after her family fled civil war and spent years in a refugee camp before arriving in the United States.
Despite the inflammatory rhetoric surrounding the proposal, Omar appeared entirely unfazed by the threat.
Asked whether she feared the measure could gain traction, the congresswoman indicated she was not worried the effort had any realistic chance of succeeding.
Changing the Constitution is among the most difficult processes in American politics, requiring approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate before ratification by three-quarters of US states.
At present, there is no indication the proposal has broad support from Republican leadership or enough backing to seriously advance through Congress.
Still, Mace defended the proposal in comments to Fox News arguing that people serving in powerful federal positions should have been American citizens from birth.
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Should foreign-born citizens face extra barriers to serving in Congress, or is this unfair discrimination?
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace appears to have been obsessed with the issue for weeks having tweeted obsessively over the issue of foreign-born politicians serving in congress
Rep. Nancy Mace singled out three foreign-born Democrats; Rep. Ilhan Omar who was born in Somalia, left, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Shri Thanedar who were both born in India
Rep. Randy Fine has also Randy Fine proposed legistlation that would prohibit dual citizens from serving in Congress unless they formally renounce citizenship in any other country
‘If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural-born American citizen,’ Mace said.
‘For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government, while making clear their loyalty is not here. We see it every day.’
According to congressional data, there are currently 26 foreign-born lawmakers serving in Congress – including 19 Democrats and seven Republicans.
The controversy escalated further when Omar was also asked about separate legislation proposed by Randy Fine that would prohibit dual citizens from serving in Congress unless they formally renounce citizenship in any other country.
The measure, titled the ‘Disqualifying Dual Loyalty Act,’ was introduced last year and argues lawmakers should owe allegiance solely to the United States.
When asked about the bill, Omar appeared unfamiliar with it.
‘Who’s that?’ she responded when Fine’s name was mentioned.
Fine later defended his legislation in a statement, saying: ‘I think it’s a fair argument to say you can only swear allegiance to one country, and if you’re in Congress, that allegiance should be to America.’
‘This bill ensures that the people making laws for our citizens are themselves fully committed to our country, not divided between two.’
