The resurfaced 2021 clip shows Rep. Yvette Clarke describing how her Brooklyn district’s Haitian community could “absorb a significant number” of migrants, before adding she “need[s] more people” there “just for redistricting purposes.” For many on the right, it sounded less like humanitarian concern and more like a strategy to manipulate political power through demographic change. Commentators like Kyle Becker called it “the quiet part out loud,” accusing Democrats of being willing to burden taxpayers and strain public services in exchange for safer seats and long-term dominance.

The outrage comes amid broader battles over noncitizen voting and election integrity. New York’s attempt to let nearly a million noncitizens vote in local races was recently blocked in court, intensifying calls for federal safeguards. Supporters of Rep. Chip Roy’s SAVE Act say Clarke’s comments illustrate exactly why proof-of-citizenship requirements and aggressive removal of noncitizens from voter rolls are urgently needed before trust in the system collapses completely.