Kenyan-born Minnesota House Representative Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley recently conveyed a subtle warning to US President-elect Donald Trump regarding the possibility of deportation.
She appeared on the Citizen TV interview on Saturday evening.Huldah stated that because of the enormous number of immigrants in the United States, which she feels is overwhelming, deportation would have a negative impact on the economy.
“Even if you don’t deport half of the immigrants, you are literally crippling half of the US economy,” she said.
The Nyamira native also stated that there were rights in place that provided some protection to immigrants in the United States.
“So what we are hearing is rhetoric. There is some truth to that but we also have the law that affords individuals in the United States certain rights,” she added.
“If you are illegal in the US, there are rights that are not accorded to you, I get that. The US has to protect its borders, I get that as well.”She continued: “But we are also called to be compassionate. We are supposed to extend a helping hand when someone is going through something.”
Momanyi’s comments came just weeks after Trump shocked the internet by sharing a November 8 post by his ally Tom Fitton, the chairman of the conservative Judicial Watch organization.
In his piece, Fitton claimed that the Trump administration was “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
The US President-elect has also chosen several immigration hardliners to serve in crucial Cabinet roles, including South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.Noem was chosen to be Homeland Security secretary pending Senate approval.
True to Momanyi’s beliefs, the US has a significant immigrant community, with an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants residing in the world’s superpower without legal immigration status, including Kenyans.
According to data from the 2020 US Census Bureau, at least 30,000 Kenyans are known to be living in the United States without valid legal documentation, a figure that could rise by 2024.Momanyi, who recently attended the Jamhuri Day celebrations at Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens, says Trump’s expulsion of immigrants from the United States is a step backward.
“His rhetoric is jeopardizing individuals like refugees who are leaving their nations to seek refuge in the US. He is jeopardizing immigrants who have been in the country,” she added.
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