U.S. Representative Delia Ramirez of Illinois became the focus of a heated political debate this week. She made a comment during the opening of the second annual Panamerican Congress in Mexico City, which led to strong backlash and even calls for her deportation due to immigration reasons.
The controversy started when Ramirez, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, reportedly said in Spanish, “I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American.” Fox News found this statement when it was reposted by the official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) account on X. This led to widespread criticism from political opponents. The DHS post made the situation worse by including a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism…Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”
This reference to history added weight to the criticism, implying that Ramirez’s words showed a lack of loyalty to American values. The reaction was fast and intense, with Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee calling for extreme action against her. “Denaturalize, deport, and kick her off Homeland Committee. We know where her allegiances lie,” Ogles wrote on X, directly questioning Ramirez’s loyalty to the United States.
Congresswoman threatened with deportation due to heritage.
These strong words showed how divisive the political conversation had become. Ramirez, a Democrat, is the child of Guatemalan immigrants and is a U.S. citizen by birth, a fact she stressed in a detailed response to her critics. In her statement, she described herself as “both Chapina and American” and as “from both Guatemala and Chicago, Illinois,” trying to explain and give context to her earlier remarks.
Ramirez did not apologize or retreat from the controversy. Instead, she said the attacks against her were politically motivated and meant to silence her while dismissing her criticism of what she called nativist, white supremacist, authoritarians in government.
“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism…Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 4, 2025
– Theodore Roosevelt https://t.co/Jki0zCAiHG
She said, “Let’s call it what it is: today’s attacks are a weak attempt to silence my dissent and invalidate my patriotic criticism of the nativist, white supremacist, authoritarians in government. It is the definition of hypocrisy that members of Congress, who betray their oath each day they enable Trump, are attacking me for celebrating my Guatemalan-American roots.”
She continued, “No one questions when my white colleagues identify as Irish-American, Italian-American, or Ukrainian-American to honor their ancestry. I’ve consistently expressed pride in my heritage and history – a pride also often reflected in the origin stories of my colleagues. Only those who believe America should not include the children of immigrants or be diverse would attack me – and Americans like me – for honoring my roots.”
