During an appearance on BET's digital series "Black Coffee Live," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) claimed border patrol agents were terrorizing immigrants and said Congress should have a conversation about eliminating border patrol and enforcement agencies.
Marc Lamont Hill, who was fired as a CNN commentator after he publicly called for the destruction of the state of Israel during a speech to the United Nations, is the main host of the morning digital show. He asked Omar about the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border.
Referring to the border patrol and immigration officials as "rogue agencies," Omar said the organizations tasked with defending the southern border and processing illegal immigrants operate with "no accountability, no transparency in how they conduct their business."
On Tuesday, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, the agency's independent watchdog, released a report detailing the squalid conditions occurring at overcrowded migrant centers at the southern border.
"We know they have certain views on what black or brown people deserve," Omar said in reference to recent reports of a Facebook group of retired and active border patrol officers which included racist and derogatory images and jokes about illegal immigrants and some Democratic lawmakers.
The acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan strongly criticized the reports and said he had launched an immediate investigation into the Facebook group. He also made clear that any individual making the aforementioned jokes "do not represent the men and women of the Border Patrol," and are "completely unacceptable."
During the interview, Omar after criticizing the immigration and border patrol officials went on to call for the complete elimination of their agencies.
"We should be having a conversation about eliminating their existence. Reforming the agencies that deal with our most vulnerable," Omar said.
She then went on to allege the border patrol agents are terrorizing immigrants illegally crossing the Mexican-American border when they are taken into custody by the agency.
"We are continuing to allow for them to terrorize people who are running away from the most horrific circumstances," Omar added.
Omar, who has faced her own scrutiny for anti-Semitic remarks, also praised her Congressional predecessor, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, in her interview with Hill calling Ellison a leader on progressive issues. Hill and Ellison have both faced accusations of anti-Semitism due to their close allegiance with notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.