Protesters who condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers as “concentration camps” took down an American flag from an ICE facility, replacing it with a Mexican flag. If Democrats who demonize ICE want to disprove President Trump when he claims they support open borders and oppose America, they must condemn this disgusting protest.
The protest, entitled “March to Close Concentration Camps,” was part of a network of Lights For Liberty events, according to the event’s Facebook page. Eight hundred and eighty Facebook users said they went to the protest in Aurora, Colo., while nearly 3,000 said they were “interested.” Associated hashtags included “Close the Camps” and “Let Them All In.”
Protesters also wrote “Abolish ICE” on a “Blue Lives Matter” flag and hoisted it upside down next to the Mexican flag.
Trump would claim this involves abetting an invasion from Mexico. The flag stunt would support such a conclusion.
Protestors on @ICEgov property just pulled down the American flag and replaced it with the Mexican flag. The group by the doors is growing. Though most protestors are still on the street. pic.twitter.com/X2waaFMEOW
— Matt Mauro (@mattmauronews) July 13, 2019
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called this “the predictable result of the 2020 Dems’ radical open borders policies.”
He suggested every 2020 Democratic presidential candidate should have to address the event. “Every Dem presidential candidate should be asked the hard Q: ‘Do you agree w/ the ICE protestors taking down the American flag & replacing it with a Mexican flag?’ They’ll want to virtue-signal ‘yes,’ but…”
The predictable result of the 2020 Dems’ radical open borders policies. Every Dem presidential candidate should be asked the hard Q: “Do you agree w/ the ICE protestors taking down the American flag & replacing it with a Mexican flag?” They’ll want to virtue-signal “yes,” but…. https://t.co/H3ItUp3GP0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 13, 2019
“There are no words for why the Democrats are staying silent on this,” Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., tweeted. “If this is your way to winning an election, fire your strategist. This is disgusting. Love your country. And if you don’t like what is happening then tell the members of Congress to get to work and fix it.”
There are no words for why the Democrats are staying silent on this. If this is your way to winning an election, fire your strategist. This is disgusting. Love your country. And if you don’t like what is happening then tell the members of Congress to get to work and fix it. https://t.co/lHYQSHnNup
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) July 14, 2019
On Sunday, Fox News’ Leland Vittert asked former Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), a 2020 Democratic candidate, about the protesters. He largely dodged the issue, Fox News reported.
“Well, I certainly respect the American flag, and my whole life I’ve been fighting to make this country — and to make sure this country welcomes everybody, and that this flag represents everyone,” Hickenlooper said. “You know I’m old enough, I remember when people were burning the flag in protest of the Vietnam War. The amazing thing about this country is we’re really one of the few places on Earth where that level of freedom of speech is still protected.”
“I might not approve of it, but I think that freedom is something that we as Americans should recognize and say, hey, that’s part of our core freedom,” he said.
“Are you willing to say that doing that, and ripping down the American flag over a facility and running up the Mexican flag, is wrong, doesn’t send the right message, isn’t going to unite us, which you say is so important?” Vittert pressed.
“I think there are better ways to unite us,” Hickenlooper diplomatically conceded. “There’s no question about that.” Vittert broke out into laughter.
If Democrats like Hickenlooper cannot condemn the replacement of an American flag by a Mexican flag, Trump can rightly accuse them of effectively supporting an invasion.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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