Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois was widely criticized on social media this week over a clip where she said her pride as a Guatemalan comes before her pride of being an American.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m a proud Guatemalan before I\u2019m an American,”\u00a0Ramirez declared<\/u><\/a> in Spanish at the second annual Panamerican Congress in Mexico City over the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n The comment drew outrage on social media, including from many conservatives, suggesting the congresswoman\u2019s allegiance is misplaced.<\/p>\n “Are you comfortable with this?” GOP Sen. Mike Lee\u00a0of Utah posted on X.\u00a0<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n ILLEGAL MIGRANT WITH DUI RAP SHEET FACING VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CHARGES AFTER HEAD-ON CRASH KILLS MOM, DAUGHTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “Well, okay then,” actor James Woods\u00a0posted on X<\/u><\/a>. “Hasta la vista\u2026”<\/p>\n “Imagine saying that while serving in the U.S. Congress,” GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York posted on X<\/a>. “The Democrat Party no longer even pretends to put America first. Embarrassing.”<\/p>\n “Any person who values any other country over America does not belong in Congress,” conservative commentator Charlie Kirk\u00a0posted on X<\/u>.<\/a> “Period.”<\/p>\n “The anger over Ramirez is not about how she defines herself, but about what it is to be an American,” Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley posted on X. “It is a shared identity, an article of faith that defines us all.”<\/p>\n The comment drew the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, which posted on its social media page a quote from former President Theodore Roosevelt in response.<\/p>\n DHS SCOOPS UP TRANS ILLEGAL ALIEN CHARGED WITH HEINOUS CRIME ON CHILD IN SANCTUARY CITY: ‘WORST OF THE WORST’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism… Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul,” the\u00a0post said<\/u><\/a>. “Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”<\/p>\n “Shocking to hear a member of Congress openly state her loyalty to another country,” Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted on X<\/a>. “If your primary allegiance is to a different nation, then you shouldn\u2019t be allowed to make laws that bind Americans. That\u2019s not controversial, it\u2019s obvious.”<\/p>\n “She should be arrested, denaturalized, and deported,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh\u00a0posted on X<\/u><\/a>. “It shouldn’t even be controversial to say this. It’s obviously what should happen in cases like this.”<\/p>\n Ramirez, who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security, also accused the U.S. of prioritizing “imperialism, militarization, conquest, control, competition in its attempt at domination.”<\/p>\n