Rep. Ilhan Omar

Rep. Ilhan Omar is a Democrat, elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018. She is a naturalized American citizen who was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1981.  She is a Muslim.  Her employment background is in education and local politics in Minnesota.(1)

She has recently been criticized for making comments on social media that some judged to be anti-Semitic.  She has been critical of President Trump’s policies on immigration.  She is reported to favor strict gun control, expanded health care coverage, and abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.(2)

During a recent House Foreign Relations Committee hearing Rep. Omar verbally attacked the venerable Elliott Abrams, US Special Representative for Venezuela.  She stepped over the line of propriety by personally impuning his truthfulness and integrity.  I would point out that, although Mr. Abrams has made mistakes, he was serving this country before Rep. Omar ever was born or became a citizen.  He deserves to be interviewed about the subject at hand (Venezuela) with dignity and respect.

Regarding personal honesty and integrity, Rep. Omar is reportedly under investigation by the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board for using campaign funds for personal trips not related to her election.  Minnesota Representative Steve Drazkowski has been quoted by the BBC as saying, "She just doesn't respect the law." (3)

Rep. Omar has been compared to other young, female Democrats, elected in 2018, who are challenging the status quo in Washington.  These include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Talib.  Rep. Ocasio- Cortez is a self-avowed Socialist, and Rep. Tlaib is a Palestinian-American Muslim.(4)

Although I disagree with Rep. Omar about a great many things, I also recognize her for her authenticity.  What she says and does is consistent with who she is.  With that said, I call for a close examination of the circumstances that have allowed her to become a Congresswoman, sitting on the House Foreign Relations Committee.  In short, how could this have been allowed to happen?

It calls into question US immigration policies that allow persons from failed states that are significantly infiltrated by Radical Islamists to enter the country as refugees and then are settled in ways that concentrate them in specific areas.  This in turn, has given them the ability to elect a Congressional Representative, which magnifies their influence in a way that is disproportionate to their numbers.

I would like to urge:

1.    That Rep. Omar be removed from the House Foreign Relations Committee.

2.    That the Democratic Party examine itself, giving careful consideration to which Democratic Candidates it supports and to which positions they serve in, if elected.

3.    That my fellow citizens write, call, or email their Senators and Congressmen and prevail upon them to pass immigration reform along the lines that President Trump is recommending.

4.    That my fellow citizens write, call, or email their state and local governments and advocate that they prohibit the relocation of refugees and immigrants in ways that gerrymander their political and electoral influence.

To the young Democratic firebrands in Congress, I would offer some friendly advice based on my own experience. Those who set out to set the world on fire should consider that, if they are successful, their own house will burn down with it.

Footnotes

1. "Ilhan Omar: Who is Minnesota's Somalia-born congresswoman?" Toby Luckhurst BBC        News, 15 February 2019.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.
4. Ibid

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47238450

Post Script: I tried for a long time to fix the spacing on the footnotes, but the word processing program wants to go its own way.  So, I am going to bed.