Ilhan Omar: ICE Operations Are 'State-Sanctioned Violence'

Wednesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations were “state-sanctioned violence.”

Host Wolf Blitzer said, “What’s it like on the ground right now not just for you, but your fellow Somali Americans and I’ve known many of them over the years, they’re very hardworking, very decent people and to hear the President of the United States call them garbage?”

Omar said, “I mean, many in Minneapolis and certainly in Minnesota are experiencing a state-sanctioned violence. We’re seeing people being stopped, dragged out of their cars, people detained for hours, many who are citizens. And it is really terrifying. But what we are also seeing is people showing just how resilient and united Minnesotans are in defending their neighbors, documenting the actions, the unlawful actions that we’re seeing from ICE agents. And we’re seeing them come together.”

Blitzer said, “I know that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has become very personal for you, even though you’re a member of Congress. You’ve said that federal immigration agents actually pulled over your son on Saturday and asked him to prove his citizenship. He is, of course, a U.S. citizen, as are you. The Department of Homeland Security says, and I’m quoting them, ‘ICE has absolutely zero record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son,’ and have accused you of seeking, to, quote, ‘demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt.’ Their words. What do you say to that?”

Omar said, “If ICE is saying that they have documentation of every single person that they have pulled over in Minneapolis, we would love to see that record, because we’ve certainly, myself and the governor, have been asking them to share information with us and the ways in which they have interacted with Minnesotans, and they have not been able to provide a single information. So it is amazing that they’re able to put out this statement saying definitely that they did not pull my son over when they haven’t been able to answer anything else, and ICE has been known to lie when it comes to their enforcement.”

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