NEW: María Elvira Salazar Tries to Walk Back ‘Kill Them’ Remark

Axios Miami : "'We should kill them,' Salazar, who is up for reelection, said in videotaped remarks before appearing to catch herself and pivoting."

María Elvira Salazar joined an RNC panel where she stated that the United States should "kill" gang members who illegally enter the country as part of a hardline stance against illegal immigration.

House Republicans continue to amp up the extremism and violence of their anti-immigration rhetoric, and Salazar's latest calls to violence are nothing short of dangerous.

Salazar then attempted to walk back her violent statements with…another violent statement - saying instead that "we should pull them by the hair and kick them out."

DCCC Spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen:
"María Elvira Salazar is undeniably an extremist who is all too happy to employ dangerous calls to violence when it suits her. Salazar's inflammatory rhetoric on the issue of immigration is horrific, and Floridians deserve someone better representing them in the halls of Congress."

Axios Miami: Exclusive: Miami Republican walks back "kill them" remark about migrant gangs
Martin Vassolo, Sommer Brugal | July 17, 2024

• Miami Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar said this week that the U.S. should "kill" some gang members who illegally enter the country before quickly softening her stance.

• Why it matters: If former President Trump retakes the White House in November, he's promised a major law enforcement and military crackdown on undocumented immigration.

• The GOP's platform refers to crossings at the southern border as an "invasion" and pledges to deploy the U.S. Navy to halt drug smugglers.

• Driving the news: Salazar, speaking at an Axios panel at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, said the U.S. should take a hardline stance against immigrants who are members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua.

• "Those who just came in and belong to El Tren de Aragua, we should kill them," Salazar, who is up for reelection, said in videotaped remarks before appearing to catch herself and pivoting. "We should pull them by the hair and kick them out."