Republican Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana faced intense criticism Wednesday after posting and subsequently deleting a social media message that referred to Haitian migrants as “thugs” and “slapstick gangsters,” telling them to get “their a** out of our country.”
The controversial post prompted immediate action from House Democrats. Representative Steven Horsford of Nevada, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, called for an investigation by the House Committee on Ethics and pushed for Higgins’ censure, a significant rebuke for a member of Congress.
Higgins, when approached by CNN, stated he did not regret his comments, saying, “It’s all true. I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.”
The incident led to a heated exchange on the House floor between Horsford and Higgins. Horsford later told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he had asked Clay to delete the post, to which Higgins reportedly replied he would pray about it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested that Republicans should consider removing Higgins from a bipartisan task force investigating assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump, given his comments about Haitian migrants.
The controversy comes amid false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, propagated by some Republican figures. Many of the Haitian immigrants referenced are legally in the United States as part of a parole program.
House Speaker Mike Johnson attempted to defuse the situation, claiming Higgins regretted his post after praying about it. However, this contradicts Higgins’ own statements to the press.
As the debate over appropriate political discourse continues, this incident highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding immigration policy and the use of social media by elected officials.
