Democratic socialist and newly elected Colorado representative Melat Kiros said in a video clip that she would cooperate with the Trump administration on providing citizenship.
Melat Kiros, who was born in Ethiopia and came to the United States as a baby, spoke in a video clip of an exchange with journalist Pablo Manríquez. She said that her relatives “work really hard and believe in the American dream.”
Manríquez asked Kiros about the petition from the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). It is the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights group.
“LULAC has a petition that’s gathered a couple hundred thousand signatures in the last two days for a pathway to citizenship,” Manríquez said. “What do you make of that? Is that something you’d be willing to work with the administration on?”
“Absolutely,” Kiros responded. “I’m an immigrant myself. I have a lot of immigrants in my family that work really hard and believe in the American dream, and that’s the only thing that should determine whether or not you can become a Democrat.”
Then Manríquez brought up the issue of the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the House of Representatives.
“Got it. And what are your expectations of this Pete Hegseth impeachment vote?” Manríquez said.
“I don’t need time for him to go,” Kiros said.
Thomas Massie, a Republican Representative, introduced a resolution on Monday to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth. This resolution primarily concerns the war in Iran but mentions the military actions in Yemen and Venezuela organized by Hegseth. The vote can take place mid-week.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorses this measure. House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to avoid the vote. Republicans are in the majority in both chambers until the new Congress meets in January, when Democrats gain control. Melat Kiros begins her term in January as well; thus, she cannot vote for the mentioned resolution.
Melat Kiros is 29 years old and is a former corporate lawyer and a doctoral student running her first political campaign. On June 30, she won the Democratic primary, defeating U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who had held the post for 15 terms already. On Nov. 3, she won the general election, receiving 78% of the votes while her rival Christy Peterson received only 14%, and Shimon Blau got 6%. This district, comprising Denver, did not elect a Republican since 1970.
Melat Kiros was born in Addis Ababa several weeks after her father was chosen through the Diversity Visa Lottery of the United States. Her story, as it is written in Justice Democrats’ biography supporting her in the elections, includes her parents’ move to Denver in the early 1990s.
