Tomi Lahren's Latest Border Rant: The Dehumanization Playbook Returns
📰 THE STORY: Tomi Lahren, a Fox News commentator, labeled Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar the 'perfect poster child' for closing the U.S. border, citing Omar's past refugee status and criticism of ICE, implying hypocrisy. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The very 'border crisis' Lahren decries is a direct consequence of decades of U.S. foreign policy. In 1993, the U.S.
intervention in Somalia, where Ilhan Omar was born, destabilized the region, contributing to a refugee crisis. Later, the 2008 financial crisis, originating in the U.S., decimated economies across Latin America, pushing more people north. Calling for closed borders without acknowledging the externalized costs of U.S. interventionism and economic policies is a deliberate historical erasure. Double
Standard: When white European refugees sought asylum, as was the case for many fleeing conflicts or economic hardship, the narrative was often one of humanitarian aid and welcome. Yet, when refugees are from the Global South, particularly those affected by conflicts the U.S. played a role in instigating, they are demonized as threats or 'poster children' for shutting down entry. The media often
frames economic refugees from countries destabilized by U.S.-backed coups (e.g., Honduras after the 2009 coup, for which then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took credit in her book) as economic opportunists, not fleeing desperate conditions. Follow the Money: The rhetoric around 'closing the border' is highly profitable for a specific ecosystem of industries. Private detention centers, many