Jamie Raskin: Tom Paine was an undocumented immigrant
Bing AI image generator depiction of Thomas Paine arriving from Great Brittain. (Bing AI Images)
Representative Jamie Raskin presented a case to prevent illegal alien kids from being “kicked out of the schools.” To help illustrate his point, he talked about Thomas Paine who immigrated from the United Kingdom to one of the British colonial provinces. Raskin described Paine as an “undocumented immigrant.” Raskin also showcased Thomas Jefferson, who the former claimed was a descended of a long line of undocumented immigrants on both his parents’ sides. Raskin also accused the Trump Administration as succeeding in denying non-citizen and citizen kids access to school and education.
From The Post Millennial:
In his opening statement at Wednesday’s Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government hearing, Raskin said, “I want to start by invoking Tom Paine, who was an undocumented immigrant who came to this land in 1774, two years before the revolution and wrote Common Sense, the pamphlet that ignited the American Revolution. And he said that this land, if it lives up to its ideals and its promise, would become an ‘asylum to humanity,’ he said. Not an insane asylum, but a place of refuge for people seeking freedom from religious and political, intellectual and economic persecution from all over the world.” He also said that Thomas Jefferson descended from “a long line of undocumented immigrants both on his mother’s side and his father’s side to the country.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin calls Thomas Paine an “undocumented immigrant, just like Thomas Jefferson’s family was. Most of our ancestors did not arrive here with documents.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 19, 2026
At the conclusion of Raskin’s opening statement, Rep Jim Jordan said, “I was just curious, Chairman, the ranking member said, I think his opening sentence was Thomas Paine was an illegal immigrant. My understanding was Mr. Paine was born in the UK, came to America, then a British colony, in 1774. So I was just struggling how he was…”
Raskin, who is the ranking member of House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the subcommittee, cut in, “I didn’t say he was an illegal immigrant, I said he was an undocumented immigrant, just like Thomas Jefferson’s family was. Most of our ancestors did not arrive here with documents.”
After a pause, Jordan said, “Oh okay, well, ok.”
Additional Reading:
Nightingale, H. (2026, March 19). Rep Jamie Raskin claims founding fathers were ‘undocumented immigrants’–they were British citizens moving to British colonies. The Post Millennial. Link.
Press Releases. (2026, March 18). Ranking member Raskin’s opening statement at subcommittee hearing on Republicans’ plan to kick kids out of schools. House Committee on the Judiciary; Democrats | Ranking Member Jamie Raskin. Link.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Democrats, Historical, Society
