Ilhan Omar

“We must see others' struggles as our own, and their success as our success, so we can speak to our common humanity.”

“I will never apologize for standing up against oppression and injustice in Israel or anywhere else.”

“What I always emphasize is that I am a representative who happens to be Somali.”

“In just my own neighborhood, you can't go one block without seeing a sign that says, you know, 'Everyone's welcome here,' 'Refugees are welcome here.' I love my Muslim neighbors, and so there is truly this spirit of generosity and compassion and openness that still exists.”

“I talk all the time about the eight-year-old me and all the eight-year-olds who are living in their camps.”

“I know that when we interact with those we fear and hate, we will find commonality.”

“For me, as an immigrant who didn't speak the language, when I would have struggles as a kid, my dad would say, 'Once you are able to communicate with people, they're able to connect with you beyond your otherness.' That is really the message I've carried throughout my life.”

“I think we forget that, for a really long time, this country has been a place that has welcomed many refugees who have made it home and have tremendously contributed to this country.”

“We know that when people are civically engaged, when they understand what their rights are, when they understand that in a democracy you can challenge governments, you can challenge policymakers, and you can... actually shape and form future policy, I think it changes the perception that a lot of young people have about where power is.”

“I'm not easily scared; from the age of 8, I learned what it means to have everything you know taken away and what it means to persevere. I approach politics the same way.”

“Every student has something to offer, and every student deserves a nurturing learning environment.”

“My family called me the 'why kid' growing up. I always needed to know why something is happening, why I had to do something, why whatever.”

“ICE has only become increasingly militarized, brutal, and unaccountable.”

“When people were selling the politics of fear and division and destruction, we were talking about hope. We were talking about the politics of joy.”

“My kids have been around politics since they were little.”

“I want to go to Washington to make sure we really have an opportunity to expand health care for folks so that is accessible to them.”

“The one percent must pay their fair share.”

“We need to recognize that racism has never been subtle, though it has gone underreported.”

“I have a great sense of who I am.”

“American hate is not new - and it is not scarce.”