IRRESPONSIBLE
GOP Rep. Rohrabacher on YouTube Shooter: ‘Could Be’ an ‘Illegal Alien’
“Would anyone listening to you right now think, ‘Well, this certainly wouldn’t be an illegal immigrant there,’” the California lawmaker said. “Well it could be!”
Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters
Following reports of a shooting at YouTube’s headquarters Tuesday afternoon, a Republican congressman almost immediately speculated that the perpetrator “could be” an undocumented immigrant.
Appearing on the Fox Business Network to discuss immigration policy, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) was asked by host David Asman to pivot to discussing the shooting in San Bruno, California.
The congressman’s take was to connect the shooting—without a shred of evidence—to the Bay Area’s liberal immigration enforcement.
“You were going to talk to me about sanctuary cities and the sanctuary state movement, and it fits right into what you are talking about right now,” Rohrabacher said, in a clip first spotted by ThinkProgress. “Would anyone be surprised?”
The lawmaker blasted the state of California for failing to deal with the scourge of “criminal illegal aliens.”
Rohrabacher then continued: “Would anyone listening to you right now think, ‘Well, this certainly wouldn’t be an illegal immigrant there’? Well it could be!”
He ranted that “any illegal in this state should be sent back whether he’s a criminal or not.”
The Fox host did not push back on the congressman’s unproven connection between the shooting and illegal immigration.
Instead, Asman replied: “Congressman, you bring up an excellent point.”
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