During an interview on Yellowhammer Radio Tuesday, Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL5) said he believes more Americans have lost their lives at the hands of illegal aliens than were killed during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined.
“(T)his is based on judgement — there are no hard data to back it up — but if you were to look at all of the Americans killed by the Islamic State, the Taliban during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and add them all up, I would wager we have had more Americans killed at the hands of illegal aliens than in all of those conflicts put together,” said Brooks. “I know in my congressional district that’s true. And we have Redstone Arsenal in my congressional district, which is a fairly large military facility, and not withstanding the significant military presence in the Tennessee Valley, we’ve lost more lives — American lives — at the hands of illegal aliens than we’ve lost in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.”
The Department of Defense pegs U.S. casualties in Iraq at 4,491 and Afghanistan at 2,356 for a total of 6,847 lost servicemen during the two wars.
Rep Steve King (R-IA), one of the most ardent immigration hawks in Congress, estimated in 2006 that illegal aliens kill 12 American per day, which comes out to 4,380 per year, but the federal government does not keep track of such statistics, so any specific numbers are unverifiable estimates.
Brooks’ comments came in response to controversial remarks made by Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who said Mexico is “not sending their best” people to the United States, but are instead sending drugs, crime and rapists.
RELATED: Trump brings national attention to illegal alien’s rape of Alabama child
“I don’t think there’s any question there are a lot of illegal aliens coming from central America — to include Mexico — who have very undesirable characteristics that are putting American citizens at risk,” said Brooks. “He was a little bit over-broad. There are a lot of good people in Mexico, and there are a lot of good people who are illegal aliens. But notwithstanding that they are good people, there is an economic issue here that you have to pay attention to. And it really comes down to this: who were you elected to represent, American citizens or illegal aliens?
“If you’re here in Washington to represent American citizens, then you have to take into account job losses and wages supprsed at the hands of illegal aliens, regardless of whether those illegal aliens are good people or bad people,” he continued. “Either way they are taking jobs from American citizens. And because of the huge surge of illegal alien labor, they have distorted the labor market such that employers are now in a position where they can pay American citizens and families less… Again, that is just pure labor supply economics. It does not make a difference whether the illegal alien is a good person or a bad person, the bottom line is they are hurting Americans by their mere presence in the United States of America because of the loss jobs and the wage suppression occasioned by this huge surge in the supply of labor.”
The full interview can be heard below. The immigration portion begins at 2:08.
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— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) June 9, 2015
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