Overview

• Republican Rep. Andy Ogles urged that Ramirez be denaturalized, deported and removed from the House Homeland Security Committee after her Spanish-language comment in Mexico City.
• The Department of Homeland Security’s official X account reposted her remarks with a Theodore Roosevelt quote denouncing hyphenated Americanism.
• Ramirez defended her statement, saying that honoring her Guatemalan roots only strengthens her commitment to the United States and accusing critics of hypocrisy.
• The New Republic and other outlets challenged the initial translation, citing video evidence that she said “First, I am American” rather than prioritizing her Guatemalan identity.
• The episode has reignited debates over immigrant heritage, national loyalty and how hyphenated identities are framed in U.S. politics.