Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
A transcript of Congresswoman Pressley’s remarks is available below and the video is available here.
Transcript: Pressley Slams GOP Attacks on Birthright Citizenship, Harm of ‘Great Replacement Theory’
House Oversight Committee Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses
September 1, 2026
REP. PRESSLEY: Today’s hearing is yet another assault on our democracy and our constitution.
Now, Trump tried to dismantle the 14th Amendment through executive order, but even the conservatives on the Supreme Court said that it was wrong, that he was wrong.
And now Republicans in Congress are trying to do exactly that. They aren’t just attacking birthright citizenship. They’re attacking Black Americans, my ancestors, who built this country but were denied the fruits of their labor, and Black folks would still be denied citizenship, but for the 14th Amendment.
They are attacking women. As Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, it’s abundantly clear to me the Republicans want to continue surveying women’s bodies and end the freedom of movement for pregnant people.
They are attacking immigrants. Changing birthright citizenship is the next step from their Project 2025 playbook after the mass deportations of people who have been legally working, living, contributing to the United States for decades.
The chair of this task force, Congressman Gill, recently introduced a bill that would label undocumented immigrants and others as quote, unquote “invaders.”
That word is not merely inflammatory. That’s more than a dog whistle. Hell, that’s a bullhorn. It’s more than just a wink and a nod to what the bill’s true motivation is.
Dr. Camarota—yes or no—are you familiar with the Great Replacement theory?
DR. CAMAROTA: I certainly read an article. I read an article or two about it, so I don’t know exactly—
REP. PRESSLEY: Well, let me elucidate, let me elucidate you and the public watching at home, because it’s foundational to what’s happening here.
The Great Replacement theory is a conspiracy that falsely claims that white people are being deliberately replaced by immigrants and people of color.
It is a far-right white supremacist ideology that far too many Republicans believe is real.
In fact, in 2017 in Charlottesville at the Unite the Right rally, when people were brandishing those tiki torches, that’s what they were saying: “You will not replace us.”
So it often relies on invasion rhetoric to advance that narrative by portraying Black and brown families as an invading force rather than as human beings and people that are entitled to dignity.
A parent crossing a border becomes the enemy. A pregnant woman becomes a threat. A child born in the United States becomes proof of a takeover.
The consequences of this rhetoric have been deadly.
In 2018, a gunman who embraced anti-Semitic replacement rhetoric murdered 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
In 2019, the El Paso shooter killed 23 people and described his attack as a response to a supposed “Hispanic invasion of Texas”.
In 2022, in Buffalo, New York, a shooter motivated by replacement ideology killed ten Black Americans while they shopped for groceries.
Republicans have the choice. You could focus on healing and uniting our communities, but you are hell-bent on division and hate.
As my colleague made clear, we all understand that birth tourism is illegal. It is wrong and it is rare.
That is not really what today’s hearing is about.
What this is about is a strategy to codify the Great Replacement theory in law, to further codify white supremacy, and to weaponize the entire federal government in pursuance of it.
And that is the fact of the matter. And I refuse to let that happen.
DR. CAMAROTA: I don’t believe any of those things, so it has nothing to do with me, but I understand your concerns. I think they’re, they’re wrong. I mean, I think that, that any kind of hateful or racist ideology has no place in the immigration debate, and I’ve never used any of those phrases, and I never will.