Rep. Louie Gohmert is under fire for proposing an annual commemoration of border control to be held on the birthday of Cesar Chavez, the Mexican American laborer who founded the National Farm Workers Association.
The resolution, introduced by the Texas Republican on Tuesday, would make March 31, Chavez's birthday, "National Border Control Day."
"Cesar Chavez was best known for his passionate fight to gain better working environments for thousands of workers laboring in harsh conditions on farms for low wages. He also staunchly believed in sovereignty of the United States border," Gohmert said.
"In fact, it was his firm belief that preventing illegal immigration was an essential prerequisite to improving the circumstances of American farmworkers; and in 1979 … he demanded that the federal government enforce the immigration laws and keep illegal aliens out of the country.
"Therefore, it only seems appropriate to deem his birthday as, 'National Border Control Day' — seeing that Chavez spent his life addressing the harmful effects that illegal migration might have on this country and advocating for a legal immigration process."
But Gohmert's bill was quickly condemned as a twisting of Chavez's legacy for political purposes.
Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat, tweeted:
Roland Martin, a commentator for TV One and the host of News One Now, tweeted:
Rev. Chuck Currie of the United Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon, said on Twitter:
Journalist Soledad O'Brien said:
Chavez originally campaigned against unauthorized immigration, but later supported immigration reform and backed President Ronald Reagan's 1986 bill that legalized the status of nearly 3 million people.
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