Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia sparked controversy during a House Judiciary Committee hearing by repurposing Martin Niemöllerâs Holocaust-era poem to highlight his concerns over the Trump administration's immigration policies, particularly regarding Latinos. His interpretation discussed various groups of people being targeted, including Latinos seeking work and individuals deported based on their appearance. Johnson's speech aimed to demonstrate the consequences of silence in the face of injustice, suggesting that everyone's rights are at risk if we donât speak out.
You know, first they came for the Latinos outside of the Home Depots, trying to get work so that they could feed their families.
Then they came for the Hispanic-looking folks wearing hats backward with tattoos and they deported them to El Salvador.
But then they came for me, and I looked around and there was nobody left because I had remained silent, and they had taken everybody.
The poem he paraphrased resonated back then as it does today, highlighting the dangers of silence in the face of injustice.
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