With the Trump administration’s decision to end DACA and continued talk of that infamous border wall the president has insisted on building since his days as a candidate, immigration is a major issue now more than ever — which is why several Democratic congressmen and women announced their decisions to bring “dreamers,” or undocumented immigrants that were brought to the U.S. as children, as their plus-ones to the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
However, not everyone is quite as thrilled about the gesture, including Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, who horrifyingly took to Twitter to not only express his displeasure, but also to say that he contacted police at the event and asked them to arrest and deport all undocumented immigrants in attendance.
“Today, Congressman Paul Gosar contacted the U.S. Capitol Police, as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking they consider checking identification of all attending the State of the Union address and arresting any illegal aliens in attendance,” the congressman tweeted from his official account on Tuesday. “Additionally, Congressman Gosar asked that they arrest those using fraudulent social security numbers and identification to pass through security.”
Additionally, Congressman Gosar asked that they arrest those using fraudulent social security numbers and identification to pass through security.
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) January 30, 2018
The thread continued with an eye roll-worthy quote from the congressman on his rationale for making such a drastic move. “‘Of all the places where the Rule of Law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress. Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported,’ said Congressman Gosar,” the tweet read.
“Of all the places where the Rule of Law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress. Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported,” said Congressman Gosar.
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) January 30, 2018
As you probably saw coming, the backlash was swift from both Democrats and Republicans alike. House speaker Paul Ryan was among the members of Gosar’s own party to condemn the tweets. In a statement provided to CNN, Ryan’s spokeswoman put it plainly that, “The speaker clearly does not agree,” with Gosar.
Similarly, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona threw some shade back at Gosar via Twitter. “This is why we can’t have nice things…” the senator tweeted in response, to which Gosar replied, “This is why you got forced out of office,” a reference to Flake’s announcement late last year that he plans to retire after his current term.
This is why we can’t have nice things… https://t.co/2vLHDFvFgq
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) January 30, 2018
In any case, according to the New York Times, we’re not the only ones rolling our eyes at Gosar’s comments — Capitol Police reportedly did not respond to requests for comment on the matter, meaning it’s unlikely they’re actually taking the representative’s ideas seriously. Besides that, many of the undocumented immigrants in attendance tonight are protected under DACA, which doesn’t actually expire until March. Try again, Paul Gosar.