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Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois was widely criticized on social media this week over a clip where she said her pride as a Guatemalan comes before her pride of being an American.
“I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American,” Ramirez declared in Spanish at the second annual Panamerican Congress in Mexico City over the weekend.
The comment drew outrage on social media, including from many conservatives, suggesting the congresswoman’s allegiance is misplaced.
“Are you comfortable with this?” GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah posted on X.
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“Well, okay then,” actor James Woods posted on X. “Hasta la vista…”
“Imagine saying that while serving in the U.S. Congress,” GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York posted on X. “The Democrat Party no longer even pretends to put America first. Embarrassing.”
“Any person who values any other country over America does not belong in Congress,” conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X. “Period.”
“The anger over Ramirez is not about how she defines herself, but about what it is to be an American,” Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley posted on X. “It is a shared identity, an article of faith that defines us all.”
The comment drew the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, which posted on its social media page a quote from former President Theodore Roosevelt in response.
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“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism… Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul,” the post said. “Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”
“Shocking to hear a member of Congress openly state her loyalty to another country,” Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted on X. “If your primary allegiance is to a different nation, then you shouldn’t be allowed to make laws that bind Americans. That’s not controversial, it’s obvious.”
“She should be arrested, denaturalized, and deported,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh posted on X. “It shouldn’t even be controversial to say this. It’s obviously what should happen in cases like this.”
Ramirez, who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security, also accused the U.S. of prioritizing “imperialism, militarization, conquest, control, competition in its attempt at domination.”
On her website, Ramirez, the child of immigrant parents, said her husband is in the country illegally and that she is the only congressional lawmaker “in a mixed-status marriage, and fights for the rights of DREAMers like her husband, Boris, and for comprehensive immigration reform.”
Ramirez defended her comments in a statement released by her office.
“Honoring my Guatemalan ancestry only strengthens my commitment to America,” the statement said. “That is the truth I carry with me always. And it is a truth that many Americans carry with them.”
“Anyone who denies our claim on this country simply because we dare to honor our diverse heritage and immigrant roots only exposes how fragile and small-minded their own idea of America really is.”
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report
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