Ilhan Omar Says ‘We Must Stop Detaining’ Illegal Immigrants

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar on Thursday called for the U.S. government to cease detaining illegal immigrants.

Omar tweeted an ABC News story about a tiny Georgia town having more detained illegal immigrants than residents. Her takeaway: America shouldn’t be detaining those who cross the border illegally.

“This should never be the case,” she wrote. “The cruelty of our immigration system becomes clearer every day. We must stop detaining immigrants and start giving them pathways to citizenship.”

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Omar’s tweet Thursday wasn’t the first time that she’s stated her opposition to detaining foreign nationals who illegally cross America’s borders.

“We need to abolish ICE and end all inhumane detention and deportation programs. We need to fight back against the criminalization of immigrants,” she said in May 2019.

“It’s un-American to criminalize immigrants for wanting to come to this country for a better life. This is why ICE needs to be defunded,” she wrote in a June 2019 tweet.

Omar has endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential race. Sanders, like Omar, has called for decriminalizing illegal immigration.