Friend — I’m an immigrant. I was raised in a refugee camp half-way across the world, but I managed to come to America to find stability and opportunity.

I was welcomed with open arms into Minneapolis, a city that proves every day that immigrants make our communities stronger and our culture richer.

Now, the election of Donald Trump has made a lot of people think that maybe America is an anti-immigrant country. That people have turned their backs on our longstanding values, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

But I want you to check out this report from Gallup Polling:

Last month, 79% of Americans said immigration is a good thing for this country. And it’s a number that has remained high over the last decade.

So why did Americans elect Donald Trump, who is using ICE as a secret police force, harassing immigrant communities, disappearing people to foreign prisons, and punishing the people who did all the right things to come here legally?

Well, for too long Democrats have convinced ourselves that we have to be ashamed of our embrace of immigrants. I think that’s completely wrong.

While Donald Trump was scapegoating immigrants yet again in the 2024 election, some thought we should try to one-up him. Instead of offering our own positive vision of fixing our broken immigration system and uniting working Americans of all immigration statuses to fight for higher wages and a lower cost of living, Democrats were talking about funding Trump’s border wall and turning away asylum seekers.

This goes beyond immigration, and goes for every issue we care about: When we back down, when we give up on fairness and justice to appease the far-right, we lose.

We should stand proud and say yes, immigrants make this country great. Yes, we should be making it easier, not harder, for people to immigrate here through a sensible system and contribute to our country. No, we will not terrorize our neighbors and round up law-abiding Americans because they don’t have the right paperwork.

That’s the vision I believe in and the vision I bring to Congress every day. Because, like I said, I’ve seen firsthand how immigrants make our communities stronger and our culture richer.

As the Trump administration continues to carry out their extremist agenda of mass deportation, I will never back down from defending immigrant communities and reminding Americans that it’s not immigrants who are holding this country back — it’s the wealthy few at the very top who are trying to pit us against each other.

In solidarity,

— Ilhan Omar

P.S. If you want to support my reelection campaign and our progressive movement to win back America’s working class, you can make a quick contribution at this link or the button below. Every contribution helps, no matter the amount. Thanks!

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Ilhan for Congress
PO Box 33079
Washington D.C., 20033