Ilhan Omar criticizes Trump for using legal term on immigration: 'No one is an 'alien''
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., took aim at President Trump for calling illegal immigrants "aliens," and accused the current administration of dehumanizing immigrants.
"No one is an 'alien,'" she tweeted. She was responding to Trump announcing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would "begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States."
"Dehumanizing immigrants and tearing apart families will not make us any stronger. It will only destroy lives, traumatize children, and make our country less safe," Omar also said.
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ILHAN OMAR'S 'CREDIBILITY' QUESTIONED BY HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER IN STINGING EDITORIAL
Omar's comments reflected a broader tension within the United States over how to refer to illegal immigrants. Describing people as "illegal" or "aliens" received criticism from Democrats and even the Associated Press, which previously updated its style guide to prohibit the use of "illegal alien."
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, however, specifically directed his Justice Department not to use terms other than "illegal alien" which he said was based in U.S. code.
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“The word ‘undocumented’ is not based in US code and should not be used to describe someone’s illegal presence in the country,” he reportedly said in an agency-wide email.
This was just the latest immigration criticism that Omar lobbed at Trump or his administration. Omar, in June, also suggested it was "un-American" of ICE to detain illegal immigrants. "It’s un-American to criminalize immigrants for wanting to come to this country for a better life. This is why ICE to be defunded," she tweeted.
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Omar also blasted Trump's immigration plan in May and called for an abolition of ICE. "We need to abolish ICE and end all inhumane deportation and detention programs. We need to fight back against the criminalization of immigrants and those crossing the border," she said.
Trump, on Tuesday, blasted Democrats for not acting on immigration reform. "The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!" he tweeted.