Democratic Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari defended calling illegal immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody her “constituents” on Thursday, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation she does not “give a shit” if individuals living in her district lack legal status.
Ansari, a left-wing freshman lawmaker who has been at the tip of the spear of House Democrats’ efforts to defend reputed MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia, went to the mat for illegal immigrants in ICE custody during a press conference on Thursday. The Arizona Democrat told the DCNF that she represents everyone in her Phoenix, Arizona-based district, including those living in the country illegally.
“I didn’t realize this was such a controversy until the right-wing media started attacking me for using the word,” Ansari told reporters in response to a question from the DCNF. “The definition of constituent is somebody who is part of a community. It doesn’t matter what their legal status is — if somebody is an asylum seeker, if somebody has a heart, if somebody is a U.S. citizen, if somebody lives in the community, I represent them.”
“Constituent does not mean voter,” Ansari continued. “I don’t care if these, if none of these individuals can vote for me. I don’t give a shit.”
Republican North Carolina Rep. Pat Harrigan responded to Ansari’s remarks in a Thursday afternoon X post.
“A Member of Congress who brags she had to ‘Google’ the word constituent has no business writing laws,” Harrigan wrote, referring to the Arizona Democrat. “Constituents are hardworking American citizens, the people who elect you. Not illegal aliens. Not asylum shoppers.”
“When you say ‘I don’t care if they can’t vote for me,’ you admit it. You don’t represent Americans, you represent everyone but them,” the Republican lawmaker added.
Ansari is not the only House Democrat that has referred to illegal immigrants as her “constituents.” Democratic Maryland Rep. Sarah Elfreth referred to individuals living illegally in her district as her “constituents” while staging a sit-in at a Baltimore ICE facility in July.
Ansari also traveled with Democratic Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxine Dexter of Oregon and Maxwell Frost of Florida to advocate for the release of Abrego Garcia from El Salvadorian custody in April. The cohort has continued to advocate for Abrego Garcia who is facing human trafficking charges in Tennessee.
Voters trust congressional Republicans to handle immigration better than Democrats by 17 percentage points, an August Wall Street Journal survey found.
A spokesperson for Ansari did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s inquiry if the Arizona congresswoman also considered illegal immigrants with criminal records to also be her “constituents.”
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