Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night that the greatest threat to the political left was more black Americans joining the middle class and having faith.
Owens made the remarks during a segment about the impacts that illegal immigration has on the country, in particular on the black community.
“The greatest threat to the left is a middle class black American, those who have have faith, they have a family, they’re educated, and they believe in a God, and they believe in the free market,” Owens said.
Owens said that “leftists have never been” friends of the black community and that the policies pushed by the left “end up hurting those that are trying to get that first ladder up to middle class.”
“They’re against anything, any policy that helps us to become independent,” Owens said. “And that is what the left is trying to do to our country. So, I want to be the greatest warning boy, to let you know from from a community that was remarkably competitive, the most competitive in our country during the 60s, that is now not competitive because of what the left has done, what they’ve done to us is a preview of what they’re trying to do our country.”
WATCH:
TRANSCRIPT:
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Well, in 2019, we interviewed the Secretary of Homeland Security on the show, Kirsten Nielsen. And we asked, Does the government have any idea just how many illegal aliens live in this country? Politicians have claimed for more than 10 years that there are 11 million of them? Do we really know? Watch.
[START VIDEO]
CARLSON: Does the US government know exactly how many people are living in this country illegally? I’ve seen academic studies that put that number between 11 million and 22 million, maybe more, what is the real number?
KIRSTEN NIELSEN: We debate it and I think that’s accurate.
CARLSON: So, we don’t know?
NIELSEN: We do not know.
CARLSON: That must be a grave concern to you that we potentially have more than 10 million people here whose identities we don’t know, could be over 20 [million] whose identities we don’t know. And like, they could be anybody.
NIELSEN: Yes.
CARLSON: And so why is that not the single most pressing problem the country has? In my opinion, right now, this is one of, if not the biggest crisis this country has faced in a decade.
[END VIDEO]
CARLSON: So the best estimate we have, the firmest, puts the number at about 22 million people living here illegally, there are informed estimates that put the number about 30 million. Anyone who repeats the 11 million number is either ignorant or lying. But today, no matter what the number is, the Biden administration committed to making every one of these foreign nationals living here illegally into a voting citizen. So we have no idea how many there are. But the Biden administration wants to introduce tens of millions of people into the labor force to compete for jobs with Americans as quickly as possible.
[START VIDEO]
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Certainly, as part of the proposal that the President outlined and proposed on day one is an earned path to citizenship, right? For 11 million immigrants who are undocumented immigrants who are living in the country.
[END VIDEO]
CARLSON: Again, the 11 million number is a lie. Do not let it pass without questioning it. But no matter what the number is, more than 10 million new voters is going to change the political balance of this country dramatically, and it will disempower some people quite a bit. Not all of them Republicans, possibly African American voters, if you think it through a little bit, but if you ask Congresswoman Yvette Clarke of New York, amnesty is great news for African American voters, quote, ‘this comprehensive immigration bill would give dreamers and TPS/DED holders a pathway to citizenship, never forget that immigration is a black issue!’. She never explained what she meant by that. Of course, it’s a lie and a total the betrayal of her voters. Unrestricted immigration hurts all Americans, but it especially hurts people at the bottom of the income scale. According to a 2006 study by a top economist at Harvard University, immigration dramatically lowered the employment rate of African American men and increase their incarceration rate. Those are not small things. And that’s not even touching on the question of political power, which is a real question. Congressman Burgess Owens joins us tonight to assess all of this. Congressman, I appreciate your coming on tonight. I just did an absolutely amazing that labor unions and leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus could endorse something that’s so obviously hurts their own members. Why do you think they’re doing this?
REP. BURGESS OWENS (R-UT): Well, what we have to understand is what the real thrill threat to the hard left, and growing up in a remarkably successful, segregated, but middle class family in the 60s and went across our country in terms of our black community, the greatest threat to the left is a middle class black American, those who have have faith, they have a family, they’re educated, and they believe in a God. And they believe in the free market. What has happened to my community. And by the way, these leftists have never been our friends, they’re the ones that are anti-choice, they’re the ones that want open borders that they know, is going to end up hurting those that are trying to get that first ladder up to middle class. They’re against anything, any policy that helps us to become independent. And that is what that’s what the left is trying to do to our country. So, I want to be the greatest warning boy, to let you know from from a community that was remarkably competitive, the most competitive and our country during the 60s, that is now not competitive because of what the left has done. What they’ve done to us is a preview of what they’re trying to do our country. So we need to wake up Americans, doesn’t matter–Democrat, independent Republican, doesn’t matter what party–those who love our nation need to know that there’s a leftist ideology that hates everything we stand for, and they’re coming at us big time. We need to pull ourselves together, start communicating, and realize that the policies that Biden’s put together right now is all about defeating the dream of Americans to live the American dream and may get to the middle class.
CARLSON: I got to ask you, Congressman quickly, what percentage of actual black voters do you think are in favor of giving amnesty to foreign nationals who are illegally giving voting rights and benefits? Is that super popular among blacks?
OWENS: No, no, it’s a very, very small minority of those who get to have a chance to have this conversation. Only the black elitist, those are the ones that have really done the most damage, those who live the American dream, The Black Caucus right now that literally the American Dream, that tell the rest of us we can’t do it. They’re all about doing anything they can to keep the lowest, those that are trying to get the middle class, dependent so that the elitist class gets more power. And it doesn’t matter what color they are, Tucker. Elitists, are the worst threat to our nation, no matter what color, and the worst are those who look like me and tell black Americans like myself, we can’t do what others Americans do because whatever our skin color, or whatever their excuse might be. The dream America, we can overcome all obstacles. We need to make sure we spread that news big time.
CARLSON: It’s such a betrayal, one of many, but a bad one. Congressman Owens of Utah. Great to see you tonight. Thank you.
OWENS: Thank you. Thank you, Tucker.