By Timothy Sekerak, Daily Caller News Foundation | February 13, 2025
Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill said “America would be a much better place” if Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar were deported back to her home country of Somalia, according to a fundraising email obtained by Axios.
Gill urged his supporters to sign a petition dedicated to deporting Ilhan Omar, arguing that she told Somalians illegally in the U.S. how to “evade” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the email obtained by Axios.
“Friend, we should have never let Ilhan Omar into our country. And frankly, America would be a much better place if she were to be sent back to Somalia,” the email reads. Gill claims it is clear that “Omar is more loyal to illegal Somalians” than to the U.S. or her elected office. He further claims that she is “facilitating a full-scale invasion of our country” and implies her actions are comparable to “treason.”
This comes after Omar advised Somalians residing in the U.S. in a media interview, seemingly including those in the country illegally.
“I advise the Somalian people that if ICE attempts to question you. You are not obligated to answer their questions. Just state you were advised by a lawyer not to answer questions. Disclosure of your name, immigration status and the mode of entry is not mandatory. Learn the laws and prepare yourself and refrain from disclosing information that you would prefer them not to know.” she said, according to English subtitles in the video.
“America would be a better place if Ilhan Omar were deported back to Somalia,” Gill wrote while quote-tweeting a repost of the video.
Omar and her family fled their home country of Somalia when she was 8 years old in 1991 after the Somalian Civil War began, according to Britannica. They spent four years in Kenya until they were given asylum in the U.S. in 1995. Her family later moved to Minneapolis in 1997 where she officially became a citizen of the U.S. at 17 years old in 2000.
Gill was questioned about his first comment in an interview with CNN on Feb. 6.
“I didn’t call for her to be deported, but I did say that America would be better off were she deported,” he said at the time. “I think that there is a serious problem, particularly given after the past four years of open borders of Democrats facilitating the invasion of our country by illegal aliens. My colleague, Ilhan Omar, was advising illegal alien Somalis on how to evade ICE detection. That is as un-American as you can possibly get — it’s unbecoming of a congress person and I absolutely think that it is disgusting.”
The reporter challenged Gill, saying, “She is a duly elected member of Congress. Her constituents put her in office.”
“She has a duty to uphold the values and customs of America, not to represent foreign illegal aliens who shouldn’t be here to begin with,” he replied. “To whom is she most loyal? Illegal alien Somalis or American citizens?”
“It is truly disgusting that members of the Republican party feel emboldened to engage in racist and quite frankly fascist remarks,” Omar told Axios in a statement, implying that Gill was attempting to “clout chase” with his petition. “I hope Representative Gill learns a thing or two about the value immigrants bring to this country and stop threatening Americans that disagree with him.”
The offices of Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Brandon Gill did not reply to the Caller for comment.
Timothy Sekerak is a contributor at the Daily Caller News Foundation
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