A sitting GOP congressman publicly admitted he wants to punish a political opponent by denaturalizing and deporting him. But here’s the constitutional reality for Randy Fine: you can’t deport a U.S. citizen for their political views.
At a Republican Jewish Coalition event on Nov. 1, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) managed to combine racism, ignorance, and authoritarian fantasy into one sentence in less than two minutes. “I’ve called for Zohran Mamdani to be deported,” he boasted. “The only thing I want to see him running for is his gate at JFK on the deportation flight to Uganda.”
That was unfortunately not a slip of the tongue. Fine also bragged about calling Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib “Muslim terrorists.” And, he actually called for Mamdani’s deportation a few days ago after he was leading the polls. Fine led a campaign alongside Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), urging the Justice Department to ‘review every naturalization of the past 30 years.” And they insisted they start with Mamdani.
But here’s the legal problem with his statement: Mamdani is a U.S. citizen, and has been since 2018. And sadly for Randy Fine, denaturalization is only possible if the government proves in court that citizenship was obtained through material fraud or willful misrepresentation. There’s no deportation clause to send someone back because a politician doesn’t like your politics. Fine knows that, but as with most demagogues, he counts on his audience not to.
Fine and Ogles previously alleged that Mamdani concealed his ties to the [Democratic] Socialists of America. And since they claim it’s a “communist organization,” it would have disqualified Mamdani from becoming a U.S. citizen (via NY Post). But the DoJ knows there’s no point to his allegations except political rivalry. So, Fine has shifted to another narrative. He claimed,
“If you think about look at the polling in New York, when people who just moved here to become citizens are voting in a diametrically opposed way to people who were born here, it means that we have failed as a country to have immigration for those who share our values.”
He wants to prove himself patriotic with that line. But in reality, he’s arguing that immigrants should prove that their “values” align with people like him to move to the United States. That’s not immigration policy, it’s ideological cleansing with a flag on top. Fine’s attack just proved that the GOP’s definition of “American” is still white, Christian, and, according to him, Republican.
But social media did not have any of his racist rants and struck right back. “Shut up. Moron. You lecture about ‘American values’ while cashing foreign lobby checks. Zohran Mamdani is a U.S. citizen — you can’t deport an American, but you sure can expose your ignorance on stage. The real threat to America isn’t immigrants, it’s bought politicians,” one commented.
Others weren’t as civil. One mocked him, saying, “The only thing anyone has probably ever seen you run for is an all-you-can-eat buffet.” Another said, “Randy Fine must be deported immediately. Before he eats my Costco.” While shaming a congressman wouldn’t ordinarily be justified, Fine’s hateful speech warranted it.
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