Democrat Offers Bill to Tear Down Statue of Liberty After GOP Pushes to 'Secure the Border'
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) was ridiculed online Wednesday for telling his Republican colleagues during a committee hearing to pass a bill to remove the Statute of Liberty along with their so-called "bigoted" immigration law.
Frost's comments came during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing discussing H.R. 2, the House Republicans' Secure the Border Act, the border security and immigration measure passed by the House last May.
The bill would change existing immigration laws by imposing limits on asylum eligibility. It also would require the Department of Homeland Security to resume construction of a border wall. The measure mandates that Customs and Border Protection (CPB) hire additional agents to maintain a staff of 22,000, and requires CPB to submit a strategic five-year technology investment plan to make sure its agents are equipped with the best equipment.
Every Democrat in the House voted against the bill. As CBN News has reported, the Biden administration is considering the revival of Trump-like border policies that are drawing outrage from congressional Democrats and immigrant advocates who say the ideas would gut the U.S. asylum system and spark fears of deportations for immigrants already living in the U.S.
Senate negotiators and the White House appear to be focused on ways to limit the number of migrants who are eligible for asylum at the border, primarily by toughening the requirements to qualify for their cases to go forward.
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Frost was one of many Democrats who spoke out against the bill at Wednesday's hearing. He also presented a mock bill to remove the Statue of Liberty telling Republicans to pass it along with their other plan, according to Fox News.
"My colleagues from the other side of the aisle, let's be honest with immigrants who deserve better than what you're offering them. Don't welcome immigrants if you plan to reject them. If you keep pushing your bigoted H.R. 2 bill, then also pass this bill. I've taken the liberty of drafting it for you," Frost said, holding up the draft. "It removes the Statue of Liberty, our largest symbol that tells people to come here."
"If you're gonna support H.R.2 and these bigoted measures, the least you can do is not be a d*** liar. As Americans, we must reject hypocrisy and lead with love. And as long as Republican officials are more interested in peddling hate, the solutions to fixing this problem in our immigration system will only get worse," he said.
The freshman congressman's comments were met with mockery on the social media platform X.
"Democrats can't decide if they want to topple statues or have them make our laws for us," writer Ryan James Girdusky posted.
RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway wrote, "There's only one party in this country that wants to tear down statues, and it's not Republicans."
"You can be for legal immigration and a secure border, it's not something we have to choose between," Republican State Leadership Committee deputy communications director Mason Di Palma said.
"What a genius. The statue sits on Ellis Island, the most important port of entry for LEGAL immigration for decades," another user posted.
