I am proof that, as Americans, we can embrace our differences.
— Ilhan Omar
Israel is an ally of the United States, and I think as much as you would look to your neighbor to your friends to live out the same values as you are, we want to make sure that our allies are living out the same values that we push for here.
We are accountable to each other; having an equitable Minnesota benefits everyone, not just the disenfranchised.
Our immigration policy should be based in compassion and a desire to help the other.
I try not to think of my life in terms of separation.
What I always emphasize is that I am a representative who happens to be Somali.
We know that when people are civically engaged, when they understand what their rights are, when they understand that in a democracy you can challenge governments, you can challenge policymakers, and you can... actually shape and form future policy, I think it changes the perception that a lot of young people have about where power is.
I think we forget that, for a really long time, this country has been a place that has welcomed many refugees who have made it home and have tremendously contributed to this country.
I think my faith as a Muslim is very important. One of the core values is that you are always trying to build consensus. So when it comes to figuring out if something is permissible or not in Islam, it's usually a discussion, and people have to come to a consensus in order for something to be approved.
We can walk and chew gum at the same time. Yes, the American people want us to legislate, they want us to insist on furthering their set of values, but they also want us to resist and exercise our oversight powers.
I want to go to Washington to make sure we really have an opportunity to expand health care for folks so that is accessible to them.
I would have loved to have heard a story like mine. I could have used it as an inspiration to get by.
Fighting gerrymandering is one thing. The other thing is insuring we have the right candidates for the people and not the right candidates for the Party.
My kids have been around politics since they were little.
We need to be constantly reminded that this is a representative democracy, and we need to be in tune to what people are talking about.
The house I was born in in Somalia was right next to a big market. A lot of beggars or panhandlers would be in front of our house constantly, and my grandfather and grandmother would always invite them in to have food with us and have them take whatever was left over.
We say this is a land of immigrants, and we forget that this was a land that belonged to people. And those of us who are new immigrants and those of us who come from generations of immigrants have to realize we are not that much different from one another.
I know how it feels to be hated because of my religious beliefs.
I will never apologize for standing up against oppression and injustice in Israel or anywhere else.
I'm not easily scared; from the age of 8, I learned what it means to have everything you know taken away and what it means to persevere. I approach politics the same way.
ICE has only become increasingly militarized, brutal, and unaccountable.
I know what it feels like to be a young family looking for opportunity in the United States.
For me, as an immigrant who didn't speak the language, when I would have struggles as a kid, my dad would say, 'Once you are able to communicate with people, they're able to connect with you beyond your otherness.' That is really the message I've carried throughout my life.
In just my own neighborhood, you can't go one block without seeing a sign that says, you know, 'Everyone's welcome here,' 'Refugees are welcome here.' I love my Muslim neighbors, and so there is truly this spirit of generosity and compassion and openness that still exists.
Here in Minnesota, we don't only welcome immigrants; we send them to Washington.
I had a lot of challenges starting school, and my dad says I would come home every day crying and feeling bad about the problems I was having with some of the kids. And he would tell me to work hard on learning the language.
When I was coming to this country, I heard about its promises.
I was a teenager when 9/11 happened. And I really was uncomfortable with many members of our community feeling like they had to strip themselves of their identity in order to mitigate the violence and the fears that they were feeling.
We've become the party that wants to appease everyone and no one. And I think the only way that the Democrats become viable again is if we have people who have moral clarity and courage to say what they need to say and fight for what they need to fight for.
I've always said you get what you organize for.
I grew up in a household where we all celebrated who we were. There was no space to make people feel different or 'less than.'
I grew up under a dictatorship. I knew what it meant for people to not have the ability to freely express themselves.
Since 2011, I am happy to say that I have reconciled with Ahmed Hirsi; we have married in our faith tradition and are raising our family together. Like all families, we have had our ups and downs, but we are proud to have come through it together.
I find hope in knowing that I belong to a state that has a lot of people who are champions of change and progress; that we will rise up and fight for justice and equality; that, ultimately, love will trump hate.
When I talk about places like Saudi Arabia or Israel or even now with Venezuela, I'm not criticizing the people. I'm not criticizing their faith. I'm not criticizing their way of life.
I think being an immigrant makes me overly optimistic.
I come from people who dreamed of a free democratic system. I believe so strongly in the process and equal access.
My kids are part of the rest of my community and my wider family.
I am not a Somali representative. I am not a Muslim representative. I am not a millennial representative. I am not a woman representative. I am a representative who happens to have all of these marginalized identities and can understand the intersectionality of all of them in a very unique way.
As an immigrant, I truly believed when I was coming to this country that people had the tools necessary to life to live a life that is prosperous, that is just and free. So, every single day, I am shocked with the hypocrisy of this country. That we are the wealthiest nation in the world. But we cannot figure out how to house our homeless people.
I believe in the ideals of America, in liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness.
I think a big part of my faith teachings is to work together towards equality: that we're all created equal, and under the eyes of God, we all have a right to freedom and to access our rights equally.
When I first arrived in the country, I really didn't speak much of the language. I knew two words coming here, and they were 'Hello' and 'Shut up.'
I have been very fortunate to have a partner who really stepped up and have wonderful children who do a lot of things that make it easy for Mommy to do this work.
I talk all the time about the eight-year-old me and all the eight-year-olds who are living in their camps.
We have people who will take votes that they can't defend. They'll say they stand for a policy, but when it comes to vote for it, they won't take the vote.
I have a great sense of who I am.
We can all agree that we need to be helping small businesses. All of us can agree that the cost of higher education is too high, and college debt is too big of a burden for young people.
I was always made aware of inequality in society, that there was a class system. In Somalia, we have clan structures. My mother's family is ethnically not Somali, and so we spoke often about what it meant to be 'other' in that way.
Insinuations that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is my brother are absurd and offensive.
