House Dem declares she is a 'proud Guatemalan' before American at Progressive International conference
The second annual Panamerican Congress brought leftist officials from all over North and South America. Those in attendance included Democratic lawmakers: Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Presley of Massachusetts, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Jesús Gilberto García and Delia Ramirez of Illinois.
All are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
During her remarks at the opening of the event, Ramirez spoke about the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown and her own ancestry.
"I'm a proud Guatemalan before I'm an American," she declared in Spanish. The congresswoman also accused the U.S. of prioritizing "imperialism, militarization, conquest, control, competition in its attempt at domination."
On her website, Ramirez, the child of immigrant parents, said her husband is in the country illegally and that she is the only congressional lawmaker "in a mixed-status marriage, and fights for the rights of DREAMers like her husband, Boris, and for comprehensive immigration reform."
The White House condemned the remarks made by Ramirez, as well as her fellow Democrats.
"These Democrats' comments are despicable and underscore their commitment to putting Americans last," White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Fox News Digital. "In stark contrast, President Trump is working tirelessly to secure peace deals, deport illegal alien criminals, and advance America's interests at home and abroad."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ramirez's office, as well as several lawmakers who attended the summit.
In addition to immigration, speakers also voiced their views on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, Colombia's deputy minister of multilateral affairs, praised Tlaib during his speech, calling her a "symbol of resistance," which prompted a standing ovation once he finished speaking.
The summit was organized by the leader of Progressive International, a radical left-wing group that describes capitalism as a "virus" that must be "eradicated" — in partnership with Morena, Mexico's ruling left-wing party, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.
Gerardo Fernández Noroña, president of the Mexican Senate and member of Morena, called out the "persecution" of migrants in the U.S. under the Trump administration.
He called it "unjust, infamous, incorrect persecution where just for being a migrant and just for your skin color or your nationality, you are persecuted."
"They are not only imprisoned, but sent to a prison that has been banned since World War II, such as Alligator Alcatraz," he said. "The United States government is grieving over drug use, but I haven't seen a single raid like the one they carry out against migrants against people who sell drugs in the United States."
In a TV interview before the event, David Adler, the general coordinator for Progressive International and one of the summit's main coordinators, said the intention of the summit was to confront authoritarian and fascist threats and shift authority from Washington, D.C. to developing countries, the DCNF reported, in the Global South, a term used to describe a loose division of nations across different continents that are generally poorer, have high levels of inequity and harsher living conditions.
On its website, Progressive Internation described the U.S. as the "lynchpin of that imperial violence — a position it has carefully built over two centuries."
The group cited U.S. military installations overseas and the massive Pentagon budget.
"US militarism sustains profound political tensions around the world. Its interventions have destroyed nation after nation, leaving a trail of violence and sorrow in their wake," the website states. "Ending US militarism means saving lives."
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