GOP Rep. Ambushed by 11-Year-Old on Immigration… But Is It a New 'Tactic'?

A new video surfaced over the weekend showing an 11-year-old girl last week confronting a Tennessee Republican Congressman about his views on immigration. Now at least one prominent conservative blog is suggesting proponents of amnesty have started using children as pawns in the political warfare over immigration reform.

The incident, captured on video and uploaded to YouTube Friday, reportedly shows young Josie Molina asking Rep. Scott DesJarais (R) if there is anything she can do to prevent her father's deportation.

"Mr. DesJarlais, I have papers but I have a dad who's undocumented," Molina said in a quavering voice before the large crowd. "What can I do to have him stay with me?"

The Congressman replied, first thanking the girl for "coming forward and speaking," but insisted the law must be followed.

"This is a big, intimidating crowd, and I appreciate you coming forward and asking a question," said DesJarlais. "But the answer still kind of remains the same. We have laws, and we need to follow those laws, and that's where we're at."

Watch the video of the incident here:

Left-leaning outlets have specifically focused on how the crowd cheered at the answer, suggesting a lack of empathy. One even headlined its story, "Tea Party Crowd Cheers As Tennessee Republican Tells Little Girl Her Dad Will Be Deported," while the Daily Kos described the youngster as "very frightened."

However, one prominent conservative-leaning blog is suggesting individuals who are in favor of providing a pathway to citizenship have recently begun employing children as a "tactic," using them as political pawns in order to solicit a certain response.

Legal Insurrection posted a blog entry on Sunday documenting multiple instances in the past few weeks where similar questions have been asked of Republican congressmen.

One, from earlier this weekend and documented on video, shows New York Republican Congressman Tom Reed facing a similar question.

"Do you believe these parents should be deported, and if so, do you believe their U.S. citizen kids should be put in foster care or get deported too?" an unidentified audience member asked. "Would you consider adopting one of those kids?"

Watch the video of the incident here:

The conservative blog also points to an event held late last month by the former Republican candidate for vice president and current congressman, Paul Ryan, in which he was confronted by a teenager who voiced frustration over a proposed 15-year pathway to citizenship.

"It couldn’t be coincidence that in two townhalls, almost a thousand miles apart, similar questions were asked within days of each other meant to make the Republican look heartless to some young child for the possible break up of a family due to deportation of an illegal immigrant parent," the blog notes.

(H/T: Mediaite / Legal Insurrection)

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