(The Hill) — Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) challenged his Republican colleagues to introduce a bill to remove the Statue of Liberty because of their stances on immigration at the southern border.
Frost, a freshman legislator, read part of the poem “The New Colossus,” which was cast and mounted onto the lower level of the Statue of Liberty as a message to immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in the 1800s.
While at a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing Wednesday, Frost called out his GOP colleagues, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) specifically, for their treatment of immigrants and their sweeping bill, H.R. 2, that would dramatically restrict the asylum process and create stricter policies and surveillance on regional migration and undocumented immigrants.
Frost said immigrants deserve better than what they are being offered.
“Don’t welcome them 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 a piece of paper. “It removes the Statue of Liberty, our largest symbol that tells people to come here.”
“This is who you are, removing the fabric of America. So, I want to know which Republican, who supports and voted for H.R.2, will introduce this bill,” he continued. “If you’re gonna support H.R.2 and these bigoted measures, the least you can do is not be a damn liar."
Frost accused GOP lawmakers of being more interested in “peddling hate” than finding solutions that will fix the immigration system.
Republicans say that the bill, which passed the House last year with no support from Democrats, is necessary to stop the thousands of migrants who are arriving at the southern border.
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