Foreign-Born Representatives Attack Proposal to Bar Migrants from Taking Federal Political Jobs

Several foreign-born Democrat Congresspeople went on the attack after South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace filed a resolution “proposing a constitutional amendment” that would prevent foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens from serving in Congress or as federal judges.

In a post on X from Wednesday, Mace pointed out that Democrat Reps. Ilhan Omar, Shri Thanedar, and Pramila Jayapal, are “all born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth,” and added, “All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America.”

In response, several Democrats quickly went on the attack against Mace’s plan. In particular, three foreign-born Democrats rushed to make their own statements to denounce Mace as “xenophobic” and “immoral.”

Democrat Squad member and Washington State Democrat Pramila Jayapal — born in Chennai (formerly Madras), India — called Mace’s resolution “xenophobic” and said her naturalization ceremony was “one of the most meaningful days of my life.”

“This narrow-minded, xenophobic legislation has no place in Congress, and I call on all my colleagues — including my Republican colleagues who are naturalized citizens — to condemn this,” Jayapal railed.

New Delhi, India-born Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was first elected to Congress out of the Chicago area in 20017, posted a video to social media calling Mace “immoral” and “un-American” for her proposal.

“We all need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder against this utterly unacceptable and un-American resolution,” he exclaimed.

For his part, Michigan Dem. Rep. Shri Thanedar — born in Chikkodi, India — tried to make a viral joke out of Mace’s resolution, and in a post on X wrote, “And I’m introducing a resolution to ban congressmembers who make their staff vote for them as the “Hottest” Woman in Congress from holding office.”

He concluded accusingly: “Get your drinking problem fixed before coming for those of us who worked hard to come here and contribute.”

So far, the Somali-born Minnesota Dem. Rep. Ilhan Omar has not commented on the resolution.

In her X post on Wednesday, Mace went on to say she filed a resolution to move Congress to seek a Constitutional amendment that would bar the foreign-born from being elected to Congress, or taking federal judgeships, and other Senate-confirmed offices in the federal government.

“The people writing America’s laws, confirming America’s judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America. Not any other country,” Mace continued.

“For too long we have allowed foreign born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day. This constitutional amendment will put an end to it,” she wrote

There are more foreign-born elected officials in Washington than is generally known.

To date, twenty-six members of the House were not born in the U.S. — including 19 Democrats and seven Republicans– along with six senators, four Democrats and two Republicans,who were born outside the U.S.A.

Regardless, Mace’s proposal has an uphill climb to passage. It would have to be approved by both the House and the Senate by a two-thirds majority vote, but would then have to face passage by three-fourths of the states to be ratified and added to the U.S. constitution.

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