Congressman Jerry Nadler argued Thursday that the United States needs “a lot of illegal immigrants” in the country to harvest vegetables and keep them from spoiling.
The New York Democrat made the remarks during the House Judiciary Subcommittee's Immigration Justice, Security, and Enforcement hearing on “The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services.”
“This country needs immigrants,” Nadler said. “Forget the fact that our vegetables will rot in the ground unless they are harvested by many immigrants, many illegal immigrants.
“In fact, the country's birth rate is well below replacement level, which means the population will start to decline,” he added. “And the proportion of people enrolled in Social Security and Medicare will increase relative to the number of people who support them.”
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Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York said the United States needs “a lot of illegal immigrants” in the country to harvest vegetables. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Nadler's comments caught the attention of social media users.
“Indeed, all of the millions of illegal aliens from over 150 countries around the world have gone to Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, etc.,” said Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to former President Trump. I'm working in the field,” he said. He said it in X.
“What a tired, deflated, exhausted, stupid cliché. Complete nonsense.”
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Nadler is not the only Democrat to make this claim. In 2022, California Representative Nancy Pelosi said farmers need illegal immigrants to “pick their crops” in Florida. Last year, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the state's vegetables would “start to rot” because of the Illegal Immigration Act.
The illegal immigration crisis had a record month in December, with more than 300,000 people encountered at the southern border. The influx continues to strain communities as migrants are bused north from the southern border.
Groups of immigrants are being transported by bus and plane in protest from Southern states, particularly Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott began shipping animals to New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions last year.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has moved illegal immigrants to northern sanctuary cities. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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Mr. Abbott's office has since sent about 27,000 migrants to New York City, which he said was intended to ease pressure on border communities.
Fox News Digital’s Timothy HJ Nerozzi and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
