In a jaw-dropping moment during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) turned to the heartbroken Angel Families—parents and loved ones devastated by the murders of their children at the hands of illegal aliens—and delivered what can only be described as a masterclass in tone-deaf deflection. I’m sorry for your loss, Cohen offered, before pivoting to the real kicker: Americans are far more likely to be killed by fellow citizens than by undocumented immigrants. It’s the kind of statement that doesn’t just insult the victims’ memories; it weaponizes statistics to downplay a border crisis that’s claimed countless American lives, from Laken Riley to Rachel Morin, all while these families sat in the audience begging for justice.
Let’s unpack this gem of rhetoric with some cold, hard context. Cohen’s claim leans on selective FBI data that aggregates all U.S. homicides, where citizen-on-citizen violence (often tied to gang activity, domestic disputes, or urban crime) dwarfs the officially tracked illegal alien murders—about 1-2% of total homicides per year, per DOJ stats. But here’s the sleight of hand: illegal alien crime is chronically underreported because sanctuary policies and lax tracking obscure the full picture. ICE data reveals over 13,000 homicides and 15,000 sexual assaults by non-citizens since 2017, with many perpetrators having multiple prior deportations. Cohen’s not just sorry; he’s sorry we won’t ignore the elephant in the room to push a narrative that paints law-abiding Americans as the bigger threat. For the 2A community, this is red meat: it exposes the anti-gun playbook in action—blame domestic violence (read: self-defense and Second Amendment exercises) to justify border neglect and disarmament agendas.
The implications for gun owners are stark and galvanizing. Democrats like Cohen aren’t just dismissing Angel Families; they’re signaling that protecting American lives from foreign threats takes a backseat to shielding illegal aliens from deportation, all while eyeing your AR-15 as the real villain. This hearing wasn’t about accountability—it was a preview of how the left will frame the 2024 debates, equating border security with xenophobia and American self-reliance with extremism. 2A patriots, take note: every time they minimize illegal alien violence, they’re laying groundwork to restrict your rights under the guise of public safety. Share this clip far and wide—it’s the fuel we need to rally for secure borders, robust enforcement, and an unapologetic defense of the right to keep and bear arms against all threats, foreign or domestic.
