WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's alleged racist tweets targeting four progressive Democratic Congresswomen.
The resolution alleged that the President's racist comments have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.
It was introduced by Rep Tom Malinowski, who was born in Poland and migrated to the US when he was 6.
The former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor said Trump is playing with fire because the words that the president used are heard by people with disturbed minds who do terrible and violent things. 'A line needs to be drawn,' he told the House.
The House reiterated that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger, and that those who take the oath of citizenship are every bit as American as those whose families have lived in the United States for many generations.
The House made it clear that it is 'committed to keeping America open to those lawfully seeking refuge and asylum from violence and oppression, and those who are willing to work hard to live the American Dream, no matter their race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin.'
Trump, who on Sunday asked four first-time female Democratic members to go back to their countries of origin, doubled down on his attacks through Twitter the next day, this time with added intensity.
Trump had accused that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts 'hate our country.'
Tlaib is the first member of the US Congress who was born to Palestinian immigrants. Omar fled war-torn Somalia and sought refuge in the US aged 12. Ocasio-Cortez is of Puerto Rican origin, while Pressley is black. Among them, only Tlaib was born outside the U.S.
In all, 29 members of the US Congress were born abroad, according to The New York Times.
Interestingly, Trump's wife Melania is of Slovenian origin, and moved to the US in 1996.
Trump also blamed the group of four outspoken women Representatives, known as the 'Squad', of using anti-Semitic language, having hatred for Israel, and love for enemies like al Qaeda.
After the House decided to vote on his controversial comments, Trump defended himself. He claimed that those tweets were not racist. 'I don't have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show 'weakness' and fall into their trap,' he said on Twitter.
The Democrats-controlled lower house of the US Congress passed the resolution on a partisan line, with 240 members voting for it, and 184 against.
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