As Republicans and right-wing media outlets continue to demonize Afghan refugees, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) shamed them for it during an interview on CNN Sunday.

Thousands of Afghans are desperately trying to escape the country as the Taliban hunts down them and their families for helping American forces during the 20-year war, including interpreters, who were indispensable.

But conservatives oppose settling these allies in the United States, thus betraying those who helped us fight a war Republicans wanted and sentencing them to certain death should the Taliban capture them.

Of course, it was Donald Trump who signed a deal with the Taliban to withdraw American forces in the first place, delegitimizing the Afghan government in the process, which is why chaos has erupted.

Several House Republicans even voted in opposition to granting visas to Afghan refugees. As he has done in response to the January 6th Capitol insurrection, however, Kinzinger once again stood up to his party and shamed them for forsaking American values.

“What you see is in the media echo chamber, this fearmongering,” Kinzinger, a veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said. “This ‘They’re coming to your neighborhood, these hordes of people that haven’t been vetted.’”

“That is not American,” he continued. “You can always have questions with how this was executed, but America’s always been the country that opens our heart. If anybody wants to go out and fearmonger and continue that darkness in your heart and speaking it so you can win an election: A) you are either evil at your heart yourself, or, B) you’re a charlatan who’s only interested in winning reelection and you truly can’t say you care about the health of the American people.”

Here’s the video via Twitter:

The Afghans who helped our troops over the last 20 years should be granted asylum in our country along with their families. They deserve it, unlike many Republicans who were born here.

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