Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) is being strongly criticized after he told a Hispanic student that he “presumed” she was an undocumented immigrant who came into the U.S. as a child.
Addressing the topic of immigration at a University of Georgia forum Tuesday night, Deal reportedly looked at Lizbeth Miranda when he made his remarks.
“There’s a fundamental problem that can only be resolved at the Congressional level and that is to deal with the issue of children, and I presume you probably fit the category, children who were brought here,” Deal said, according to CBS 46.
Miranda then informed Deal she was not, in fact, undocumented.
“I’m not an illegal immigrant. I’m not,” she said. “I don’t know why you would have thought that I was undocumented. Was it because I look Hispanic?”
Deal quickly backtracked.
“I apologize if I insulted you. I did not intend to,” he said.
A Deal spokesman subsequently insisted the governor was actually talking to a white male standing next to Miranda, not her. Both students are reportedly members of a group called Undocumented Students Alliance.
“The governor was trying to have a civil conversation with a group determined to have a confrontation,” the spokesman said. “He was courteous and civil. The entire thing was misrepresented. They were trying to ambush him.”
View CBS 46 report on the incident below. (h/t Political Wire)
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Georgia Governor Assumes Hispanic Student Isn't A US Citizen
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