U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett delivered a searing address on the House floor this week, accusing President Donald Trump and his allies of pursuing an immigration agenda “rooted in racism.”
She made the remarks as lawmakers debated the future of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from conflict-affected countries.
Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, spoke with urgency and restraint, anchoring her remarks in both policy and lived consequences.
“His immigration agenda isn’t about public safety, or economic stability, or jobs,” she said. “It’s about racism. It was racist during his first administration, it’s racist now.”
Her speech came as House Republicans, led by the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, defended moves to end TPS for several countries.
The protections allow nationals from nations facing war, political instability, or natural disasters to live and work legally in the United States for renewable 18-month periods. TPS does not provide a pathway to citizenship.
Crockett punctuated her argument with a recent incident that has circulated widely online. Referencing a viral video, she said ICE agents were seen dragging a pregnant woman during an enforcement action.
“Don’t tell me this isn’t about cruelty, because it is,” she told the chamber, pausing briefly before returning to the TPS debate.
The congresswoman also cited past statements attributed to Trump about majority Black and Brown nations and immigrants, arguing that the pattern reveals discriminatory intent. She warned colleagues against narratives that scapegoat migrants for systemic problems.
“They would rather campaign on the chaos instead of fixing it,” she said, adding that both parties share a desire for public safety without demonizing entire communities.
Crockett listed countries reportedly targeted for TPS terminations or rollbacks—Burma, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria—and contrasted them with limited extensions for Ukraine and Yemen.
“There’s one thing in common,” she said. “A lot of those people from those countries have a little bit of melanin in their skin.”
Republicans on the panel pushed back. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Tom McClintock of California criticized the Biden administration for what he called an “abuse” of TPS and related humanitarian programs, arguing that expansions—now covering about 1.2 million people—have made temporary protections effectively permanent. Republicans have long contended that TPS designations are rarely rescinded once granted.
Crockett closed by stressing that opposing crime does not require collective punishment.
“I don’t want a criminal in my neighborhood either,” she said. “But going after all of these countries” undercuts America’s constitutional values and humanitarian commitments.
Her floor remarks—direct, unflinching, and tightly argued—quickly spread across social media, crystallizing a broader national argument over whether immigration enforcement under Trump is being shaped by evidence and law, or by identity and fear.
