U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has fired back at calls for her deportation after they were leveled against her by Texas’ Republican Representative Brandon Gill, who said America would be better off without her, suggesting she could be deported back to Somalia and reopened the discussion on nationalism, immigration, and political discourse across the country.
His comments matched precisely the former President Donald Trump, raising the stakes on mass deportations in his appeal to the American electorate in the 2024 elections. The party has been increasingly advocating for immigration to become a national campaign issue, with others proposing means to deport the opponents they perceive as a threat.
Omar, Democrat Minnesota, did not hold back her punches. Rendered homeless by his remarks, in a CNN interview she observed: “These people are fools. There is no going back to a real conversation with such a high degree of ignorance that they exhibit. They are showing us great shame-not only in the Congress, but as Americans.”
Her remarks drew considerable condemnation from Republican lawmakers, especially those of the Trump-whipped variety. Representative Greg Steube from Florida accused Omar of insulting all Americans, particularly Trump supporters, by lumping them in as ignorant.
The legal and political reality of expelling a U.S. Congress-member
While the calls for deportation have sparked headlines, they have absolutely no tenure left for that possibility with regards to the law. Indeed, expelling a naturalized citizen from the United States- especially an elected official- is going to take far more legal standing than is available in the case of Omar.
While expelling Congress is equally complex. According to constitutional experts, expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds vote. “Expulsion of lawmaker is a lot harder than electing one,” said Amin Harun, a legal analyst in Minnesota. “Expulsions are exceedingly rare in American history.”
Actually, in only three occasions within the last 160 years have lawmakers been expelled from Congress. The latest was Representative George Santos, a Republican from New York, and expelled upon multiple federal fraud charges. Before him, the expulsion of two people-Democrats James Traficant (2002) and Michael Myers (1980)-for a charge of bribery and corruption.
There have been no allegations of criminal wrongdoing against Omar, and hence her expulsion seems unlikely. The U.S. Constitution, meanwhile, favors the sovereignty of voters, making it rather difficult to unseat elected officials without very strong means just because they do not get along well politically.
The Larger Political Scene
This latest controversy highlights the increasing polarization that U.S. politics is seeing as the country gears up for another closely contested election. The feud between Omar and Gill displays the larger ideological tussle playing out between progressive Democrats and hardline conservatives.
With Trump and his allies pushing a nationalist agenda, immigration debates will likely remain a key battleground once more in the 2024 elections. It still remains to be seen if these bitter exchanges lead to tangible legislation, or prove nothing more than a way of posturing for political benefit. What is clear is that there lies no bridge to cross over and give in on either side.