Politics

Ilhan Omar Compares U.S. Immigrant Detention Centers To African Slave Camps

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Justin Caruso Contributor
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Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar compared immigration detention centers in the United States to African slave camps during a speech last week at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s “Annual Legislative Conference.”

During the speech, Omar talked about a trip that she took to Ghana, describing a visit to the slave dungeons where Africans were held as captives.

Omar and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the African nation last month, as the world marks the 400th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic slave trade that began in North America.

“Every time [the tour guide] gave a description, I had this sort of flashback to an image that I saw on TV in Libya where you had Africans in a small room that were now captives, and that image was from today,” Omar said.

“And every time he would talk about the separation of the kids and from their parents and how they would have young girls be in the same dungeons as the women or they would have young boys be in the same dungeons as the men, I couldn’t stop seeing images of the current camps we have here our borders in the United States,” Omar said.

“And so of a story that happened 400 years ago–I constantly had this reminder, this horrifying image, of many of the things that were taking place there in that dungeon now taking place, whether it is in in the shores of North Africa or in the shores of the United States.”

The Minnesota Democrat doesn’t hold back her opinion when criticizing the United States’ actions. Last month, Omar said that President Trump’s administration would do anything to “target, dehumanize, and impoverish black and brown people.”

She recently claimed that vetting the social media pages of immigrants was  “fascism in action,” and she has mocked Republicans for allegedly “losing their minds” over the fact that Muslim-Americans serve in Congress. (RELATED: Ilhan Omar: 9/11 ‘Was An Attack On All Of Us’)