A media watchdog says news outlets need to ask tougher questions.
A little over a week ago Representative Ilhan Omar claimed that her son was at Target when ICE pulled him aside and demanded he prove his citizenship, which Omar says he did. The story feeds into her narrative that ICE is harassing American citizens and needs to be reined in. ICE says the event never happened, a fact that CNN's Wolf Blitzer brought up in a subsequent interview.
“The Department of Homeland Security says, and I'm quoting them, ‘ICE has absolutely zero record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar's son’ and have accused you of seeking to quote ‘demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt.’ Their words,” Blitzer said.
Omar basically said it doesn't matter what ICE says.
“ICE has been known to lie when it comes to their enforcement,” she said.
Tim Graham of Media Research Center says after that brief brush with journalism Blitzer should have pressed in harder.
“There should be some sort of effort here to ask, whether it's the local media or the national media, did this happen, or is she making it up?”
He says the mainstream media is giving Omar a pass.
“Everywhere Ilhan Omar goes she can give the answer she wants, and everybody accepts them.”
The reason is obvious, Graham said.
“The problem here is that Ilhan Omar is a black female immigrant, and so it's like you hit the triple in the DEI line.”
Omar has been a strong supporter of DEI initiatives and a vocal critic of the Trump administration's cuts to federal programs, framing them as eroding equal opportunity and harming everyday Americans.
Omar has sponsored and supported legislative efforts centered on equity and fairness, such as the RESPECT Resolution, aimed at promoting "equitable participation" in emerging industries for communities historically marginalized by past policy.
Earlier this month Omar and three other Democrats introduced the RESPECT Resolution in support of the emerging Cannabis industry.
“For decades, harsh cannabis laws devastated black, brown, and low-income communities. Today, those same communities are facing new barriers that prevent many of them from benefiting from the opportunities offered by a multi-billion-dollar industry,” she said. "Congress has a responsibility to ensure that cannabis policy expands access to capital and invests in entrepreneurs whose communities were most harmed by outdated drug laws.”
