Politics

Harris: History Has Already Shown What Happens When Governments Round People Up ‘By Ethnic Group’

No featured image available

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris suggested President Donald Trump’s plan to deport “millions” of illegal immigrants targets specific ethnic groups.

“Mass deportations are cruel and violate our values,” Harris said in a tweet Tuesday. “As this president rips more families apart, let’s remember that history has already shown us what happens when governments begin rounding people up by ethnic group. This would be a shameful stain on our country.”

Mass deportations are cruel and violate our values. As this president rips more families apart, let’s remember that history has already shown us what happens when governments begin rounding people up by ethnic group. This would be a shameful stain on our country. https://t.co/habT23JayV

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 18, 2019

The candidate’s campaign manager, Juan Rodriguez, also sent out an official statement on the issue of mass deportation.

“Let’s be clear: President Trump wants to rid our country of ethnic and racial groups he doesn’t like. History has shown us what happens when government begins mass roundups based on ethnic background or national origin. We need a new president,” it reads.

Harris’s comments come after Trump’s Monday announcement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would remove “millions of illegal aliens” from the U.S.

“Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States,” the president tweeted. “They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get [sic].”

….long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019

There are large numbers of immigrants from all over the world who fly legally into the country — such as international students — but overstay their visas. There were 69,000 international students out of a total of 1,662,369 who overstayed their visas in 2017, according to a Department of Homeland Security report, including students from China, India and South Korea.

Harris’s comments come after Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez live-streamed herself Monday on Instagram comparing detention centers to concentration camps.

“The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border,” she said in the live-stream video. “That is exactly what they are. They are concentration camps. And if that doesn’t bother you. … I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity that ‘never again’ means something. The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing.”

.@AOC compares U.S. border facilities to concentration camps pic.twitter.com/a9MG5J6atD

— The Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 18, 2019

A White House spokesperson told The Hill “more than 1 million illegal aliens who have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges yet remain at large in the country. Enforcing these final judicial orders is a top priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — willful defiance of our laws, and the defrauding of the American People with fraudulent asylum claims, will not be tolerated.”

Follow Audrey on Twitter.