“When I think of immigration, I want to think of families. I want to think of unity. I want to think of a safe place, you know, free of persecution, a place where we can welcome a child that is hungry.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Trump’s pardon of Arpaio may not get as much attention as Russian influence or Trump’s apparent obstruction of justice in the Mueller investigation. But to me, as a woman of color, it is a clear abuse of power for the U.S. president to pardon a sheriff who targeted people for arrest because of their ethnicity.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Throughout my career in public service, the residents I have had the privilege of fighting for have embraced who I am, especially my Palestinian roots. This is what I want to bring to the United States Congress: an unapologetic display of the fabric of the people in this country.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“As a social justice lawyer, I started marches against Trump here in Detroit.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My mere existence as a member of Congress as a Palestinian causes a lot of fear, because I’m here as a human being, as an American, that is saying to the world that we exist.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“In my case, I am always that odd candidate that doesn’t look like everybody else.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Mayors, city council members, and legislators come and go, but neighborhoods don’t go anywhere.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m not going to allow this world to make my son scared of saying he’s a Muslim.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“How long do we have to keep fighting for affordable prescription drugs?”
― Rashida Tlaib
“President Donald Trump is a direct and serious threat to our country.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I am for everyone, every single person, Israeli, Palestinian, to have equal access to opportunities, to feel safe where they live, and to really be a genuine partner and a visionary around reaching peace in that region.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“You don’t have to read the Quran to love me… love the actions, love the things that I do. Look at those, and that will help people get beyond whatever fear or stereotypical thing that they might be thinking about.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Stolen scrap like manhole covers, railroad weights, stop signs, guard rails, and public lighting put our residents in grave danger. Not only that, but the theft is tearing apart communities with stolen church and cemetery ornaments.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I don’t want our right to be able to speak and dissent to be taken away.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“In 2017, Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, an Arizona sheriff who was ordered by a federal court to stop racially profiling and was convicted of criminal contempt when he refused. Arpaio, by targeting Latinx people, was violating both the U.S. Constitution and our civil rights.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My God, do we have some of the most amazing people. You won’t find stories like ours. You almost feel like, if there’s ever a need to tell an American story, just come to Detroit.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Historically marginalized populations have already had less access to wealth and credit building opportunities, and the continued use of credit histories to set auto insurance pricing compounds racial discrimination and exacerbates wealth inequality.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I really truly respect and honor the fact that the majority of my district is African-American and that I have to make sure that I surround myself with people with that lens.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“The emoluments clause is in the Constitution for a reason: We, as Americans, need to know that the president acts in our best interests, not his own self-interest.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We continue to see our elected officials working extra hard to create a ‘good climate for business’ that leads to disinvestment in public infrastructure and tax incentives to the detriment of cities, while enriching private business and further entrenching poverty. And our cities are told by legislators to use their bootstraps to survive.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I believe that we shouldn’t be supporting any form of aid towards countries that are killing people that are innocent.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I don’t care if it’s Saudi Arabia or if it’s Israel or any other country. I can’t imagine our members of Congress or even the residents back in the day that pushed back against apartheid in Africa not to be able to boycott.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We’re going to have more women run for office. We can shift what’s going on in Congress.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“This kind of ‘separate but equal,’ I’ve seen what it’s done in the history here in America, and it didn’t work. And it still hasn’t worked, I mean, even in continued segregation of our schools, which has increased with the privatization of our school system.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Lost in the often-vitriolic national quarrel over immigration reform is any examination of proposed measures that would result in excessive punishment, such as detention and deportation, for the most minor offenses.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Concern for ‘national security’ has introduced unprecedented insecurity to living in the United States as a legal permanent resident.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“It is so clear that the conservatives in Congress will only settle for a bill that allows the unequal treatment of immigrants, allow them to be shoved around the system with no way to plead their case for relief.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“No matter how much the private sector crows that corporate tax breaks will lead to more jobs or robust economic activity, such benefits rarely materialize.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m a member of the Michigan Democratic Party, a DSA member, member of the League of Women Voters, ACLU.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I cannot imagine our country not having the right to economic boycott.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My mother raised 14 kids, with little means, from our humble house in Southwest Detroit – and now her daughter, who started school not speaking English, is going to be a congresswoman. It was so important for her to know her strength got me here, and that I’m going to fight every day with her spirit inside me.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We cannot have policies that punish people for taking action. Imagine the further harm it would have caused if the federal government banned civil rights leaders from boycotting buses in Montgomery, Alabama, or banning divestment from Apartheid South Africa.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My dad grew up in Nicaragua in his teenage years, then immigrated to the United States.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We must stop tax giveaways to rich corporations and developers while our schools are crumbling and people are losing their homes.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Big money has hijacked our politics.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m just this girl that grew up in southwest Detroit.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Detroit can become a national model for urban revitalization, but to do so, it must break free from past development models.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Trump’s years in office are years we cannot get back. But more dangerous than the loss of time is allowing Trump’s precedents to take root.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m constantly working, and I’ve earned everything that I’ve been able to achieve on my own, and that’s what being the eldest of 14 taught me.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I love being a mom.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“When we shift our public dollars away from our schools and city services and into company developments, it increases the root causes of poverty: unemployment, underemployment, lack of community resources, and lack of quality public education.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“When we are asked to bail out corporations and banks, or pass tax bills that shift billions in public dollars out of government, we must ask ourselves, who were we truly sent here to advocate for?”
― Rashida Tlaib
“From capitalizing housing trust funds, which allow low-income people to obtain grants to fix up and stay in their homes, to creating job training programs in schools, these are the kinds of economic stimuli that will give families the opportunity to thrive.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Southwest Detroit has been through hell (excuse my directness) with Matty Moroun, his Bridge Company, and all his fancy-named subsidiaries. From blighted homes that my boys have to walk by to allowing his trucks to rumble down our residential streets, passing our parks, schools, and homes – we have had it.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We cannot afford to deliberately cripple our cities by transferring public tax dollars to private entities for benefits that are unclear at best.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We are valuable. Detroit and other neighboring communities are places to invest in, not rob.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My mother knows struggle and has taught me how to lead with compassion, the compassion that should be required for every representative on every level of government.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“As a young girl, I watched my mother hand-stitch thobes while sitting on the floor with a lamp at her side. She would make the small designs of flowers and different shapes. Just thinking about it brings up so many memories of my mother and how proud she was of being Palestinian.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My mom is a woman who grew up in a small farming village in the West Bank called Beit Ur El Foka. She only went to school up to 8th grade and then dropped out to go work in a tailor shop that made dresses and different embroidered designs to make money for her family.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“My dad’s first-ever real true job was at Ford Motor Company. He was a UAW member.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I remember Congressman Conyers voting against the PATRIOT Act, voting against the Iraq War when it was unpopular to. That tremendous amount of courage that comes with that kind of leadership, I mean, that’s what we need.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Either you’re for ending Citizens United, or you’re not. So, if you’re for ending Citizens United, then act like you are against corporations influencing our democratic process.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“You know, as a child of Palestinian immigrants, again, every corner of my district is a reminder of the civil rights movement, and I bring that lens, and I try to – you know, many of the Palestinians, they have called me, reached out to me via social media.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We send a lot of money – I don’t know, I think it’s in billions – of money to the Saudi government. We have so much tremendous leverage as the United States of America, but we seem to choose to look away when there’s other interests at play.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I have fought so heavily against corporate tax breaks, especially because I’ve seen our schools in Detroit close down.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I can tell you, you know, I am a person that every – people that do really know me well know that I’m extremely passionate about fighting for my families and the residents back home.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We have to be a nation of compassion and some sort of humanity when it comes to the treatment of other human beings.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“To me, I know that if we could pass the Civil Rights Act of ’64 over 50 years ago, then we can pass Justice for All Civil Rights Act. We can pass Medicare for All.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“People across metro Detroit face discrimination every day in housing, employment, insurance – the list goes on. It might not always be explicit and in your face, but my residents know when they’re being mistreated.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Limiting the ability of the people to peacefully organize and partake in direct action to fight against persecution and discrimination is not only barred by the U.S. Constitution but is fundamentally un-American.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m so much of a proud Detroiter.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Serving in the U.S. Congress is about much more than voting on bills. It is about taking on the corporate bullies that taint our democratic process and pushing back when the system is broken.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Voters will never wonder where I stand on an issue or if I will be there when needed. I will be side by side with them as we fight back against the Trump agenda together.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“The first thing I think about when somebody says you’re going to be the first Muslim is celebrate this moment.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I was the third parent, growing up, and it did make me a very overly responsible adult.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I went to Detroit Public Schools: Harms Elementary, Bennett, which is now called Phoenix Academy. This is all in Southwest Detroit. I graduated from Southwestern High School, so I’m a ‘Prospector,’ which is what we used to call each other.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We demand Congress access and publicly release Donald Trump’s tax returns!”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Resources and money can change people’s lives today, where legislation can take years – up to 10, 15 years sometimes before it really, really impacts people.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I really am focused on making sure we’re doing everything we can so every single person in our country… has the right to thrive… and live in a just and equitable society.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Detroit can’t come close to repairing the decades of neglect without addressing the crisis in our neighborhoods. I live in southwest Detroit near Woodmere Cemetery. My neighbors and I deal with the negative impacts of job loss, increased poverty, and pollution every day.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Old models of development simply seek to lure business with substantial tax breaks and then hope (and pray) that economic benefits will trickle down to residents. It has not worked for our city in the past, and it will not work for the future city that we all hope want to see.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I have had the fortunate privilege of serving as a state representative for residents in the great cities of Detroit, River Rouge, and Ecorse.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Trump has created an atmosphere wherein my sons are questioning their place and identity as Arab Americans and Muslims.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I still remember, at the age of 12, learning that segregation had been permitted only a couple of decades before I was born and that a woman’s right to vote was not even a century old. But it was great Americans who stood up, some dying for the cause, to make our country better.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Social niceties are not in order for men who would turn away refugees fleeing for their lives based on their faith to have them suffer in camps.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m not a makeup girl!”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Confrontational or not, my approach to public service has always been fighting for my families.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Being in southwest Detroit, when my dad would want to say anything about me or my brothers or sisters, he would start speaking in Spanish to my uncle and my grandmother because we didn’t understand.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“A photo does not mean I agree with anything someone says.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m never going to be this polished politician. Nor am I going to be perfect.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I was my mother’s translator until I was probably 12 years old, and I remember how people looked at her.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I went to a predominantly African-American school. I didn’t even understand our immigration system. I knew my parents immigrated here.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I remember the different things that were happening to my family as we were getting situated and buying our first home in southwest Detroit, watching my mother learn how to drive for the first time.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m very proud to be Arab.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m very proud to be of Muslim faith.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m very proud to be a Detroiter.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Obviously, I am a member of Congress, and things that I say are elevated on a national level, and I understand that very clearly.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I am very passionate, and I grew up in an incredibly beautiful urban community – the city of Detroit – born and raised.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I think social media brings another dynamic to running for office so publicly.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“There are proven health benefits for both babies and mothers who breastfeed, and it’s unfortunate that it still carries an unfair stigma in our society.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“We should be encouraging moms to breastfeed their infants, not discouraging it by unfairly judging and discriminating against nursing mothers.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Scrap metal theft costs our state countless dollars in stolen public and private property.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I support a Green New Deal to put people to work building a renewable green energy infrastructure that can help us fight climate change and protect our communities.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Allowing workers’ compensation for all injured workers is a better system than allowing people to be part of a black market of undocumented workers.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I want people to feel like they have access to Congress, that they have access to government.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I take a very different approach to public service. I’m a person that always takes it out in the streets and in the courts… the tool box that is attached to me is very diverse.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’m tired of just introducing legislation that’s just not going to change our lives. It’s going beyond that.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“I’ll do everything I can to ensure the Clean Water Act is enforced here in Michigan, and I’ll work to ensure everyone in Michigan has access to safe, affordable water, regardless of where they live.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“Taking on corporate greed is an environmental concern.”
― Rashida Tlaib
“There’s no doubt that corporations have been getting away with dumping their pollution into our environment for decades and that they’re especially emboldened to pollute in low-income communities and, typically, low-income communities of color.”
― Rashida Tlaib
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