Ilhan Omar Deletes Tweet Claiming Trump’s ‘Merit-Based’ Immigration Plan Is Code for Anti-Latino Racism

Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar deleted a tweet claiming a merit-based immigration system would disadvantage Latino migrants after Texas Senator Ted Cruz called her out for prejudice against Hispanics.

‘As the son of a Cuban immigrant whose Dad came to get a math degree & become a computer programmer, I’m troubled that Dems seem to believe Hispanic immigrants can’t qualify for skills-based legal immigration,’ Cruz tweeted on Friday in response to Omar’s tweet.

‘Bringing in more scientists, engineers & doctors is good for US jobs,’ he continued.

Cruz’s full legal name is Rafael Edward Cruz, and he is of Cuban descent. His father was born and raised in Cuba, he left in 1975 to attend the University of Texas at Austin and obtained political asylum in the U.S. after his four years were up. He became a naturalized citizen in 2005.

President Donald Trump unveiled a plan earlier this month for immigration reform, which included a merit-based system that would grants U.S. entry to migrants based on their skill and trade level and education.

Omar slammed the president for the proposal, tweeting Tuesday night that it was ‘fueled by racism.’

‘A ‘merit based’ immigration policy is fueled by racism toward the Latinx community,’ Omar posted in the now-deleted tweet.

‘Our immigration policies shouldn’t be based on discrimination, fear, or bigotry. We should welcome immigrants to our country and offer a simple pathway to citizenship,’ Omar concluded.

Some other Twitter-users said that in accusing the president of racism, Omar was sounding racist herself by suggesting Hispanics would be disadvantaged by a merit-based immigration system.

‘So Ms. Smarty Pants @ilhanmn deleted her tweet, cuz she finally realized that in accusing the President of raaaaaaaaaaacism, she was sounding mighty raaaaaaaaaacist herself,’ conservative blogger Michelle Malkin tweeted.

The freshman congresswoman is a Somali-American refugee who moved to America in 1992 when she was around 11-years-old, and secured asylum a few years later in 1995. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections.

Omar is a vocal critic of Trump and his administration, and has called herself his ‘biggest nemesis’ because she is a refugee, hijab-wearing Muslim and black.

She is especially hypercritical of Trump’s immigration policies, including a zero-tolerance stance his administration took – and then reversed – after it caused an influx in children being separated from their parents when crossing the border illegally.

The progressive lawmaker has also come under fire for making comments that were widely viewed as anti-Semitic.

She caused outrage, even within her own party, with a tweet linking support for Israel to financial contributions.

‘It’s all about the Benjamins,’ she tweeted in February.