Maine Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland)
Democrats in many blue states – like Maine – maintain narrow control by sweeping into position anyone they can find to run, then ruthlessly enforcing discipline. Sometimes things boomerang, and the unexpected happens. A Maine Democrat legislator last week made clear her loyalty is to…Somalia.
Maine welcomes legal immigrants, today and every day. America has nine visas for entering the U.S. legally. Democrats, however, push to hide illegal aliens in Maine. Republicans strongly oppose that idea. Illegal aliens are…illegal. They also weigh down infrastructure, schools, and safety – regardless of their origin.
Today, Maine is home to 6,000 Somali immigrants, many naturalized. Naturalized Americans are typically a wonder, a strength, and patriotic.
Some, however, keep split loyalties. While most Maine Somalis integrate, work, and assimilate, some do not. While data is sparse, the top language for non-English speaking students in Lewiston is Somali; many “send regular payments” to Somalia, and Maine has roughly 1,500 Muslims, of whom most are Somali.
Even under Obama, questions arose about split loyalties, his Treasury questioning whether money went to Somali terrorists, specifically al-Shabab, an offshoot of al-Qaida, which is the group responsible for the attacks on 9/11.
On that issue, balance was always tough, as legal immigrants from any country – Ireland to Guatemala, Armenia to Somalia – can send money to less fortunate kin in their country of origin. De-naturalizations are rare, 42 last year nationally.
But on loyalty to America, there is honestly no room for compromise. When a legal immigrant becomes a naturalized citizen, they take an oath. The oath is explicit.
As a former U.S. Court of Appeals clerk for the 9th Circuit, serving a Reagan appointee, I regularly (monthly) watched these ceremonies with appreciation for the greatness of America. We are a beacon for the world, where many wish to come, and few can.
The oath includes these words: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.”
The oath continues: “…that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law…”
It goes on: “…that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”
So, in an oath to God, a naturalized American swears to “entirely renounce” other loyalties, and swears unswerving “allegiance and fidelity” to America, backed up by a promise to serve America as needed in arms. Making clear the seriousness of this pledge before God, the aspiring citizen swears to have no competing loyalties, “no mental reservation of purpose of evasion.”
Now, we come to Maine. A Somali-born, naturalized, Democrat member of the Maine legislature, oddly out of sync with that solemn oath, last week described her convictions – offhandedly but sincerely – as committed to “our country, Somalia.”
If this were not arresting enough, she has neither recanted nor apologized. Nor has any Democrat legislator weighed in, allowing her to casually diminish, if not “renounce and abjure” her allegiance to America, replacing it with “Somalia.”
The thing is more than surprising; it is sobering. Why? Societies with split loyalties historically tend to erode. Pluralism – from many in one – only works when the nation to which people legally migrate becomes their home, its culture theirs.
Somalia is a beleaguered nation, terror-ridden, and was – lest we forget – the horrifying center of “Blackhawk Down,” Battle of Mogadishu that killed 18 American soldiers, wounding more than 70. America lost blood for Somalia.
Never mind that, or her prior oath. This Somali-born Democrat thinks Somalia is her country, not America. She says so without equivocation or explanation. She is apparently proud of that cross-allegiance, which defies her citizenship oath.
Incredibly, this same representative is the original sponsor of legislation to make Maine a “sanctuary state,” a bill that sits on the Democrat governor’s desk to punish Maine police who share data on illegal aliens in Maine, HP 1315.
The outrage is compounded by her having helped create the incorrectly named “Office of New Americans,” spending millions to help illegal aliens get into Maine and get free everything – with money earned by lawful Maine citizens.
More, this representative with split loyalties is tied to a network of “non-profits” that received no-bid contracts, on public data – helping Democrats keep control.
If this were not enough, Maine legislators – of which she is one – take another oath under Article IX of Maine’s Constitution, affirming they will support the U.S. and Maine Constitutions, saying they “do swear” to do so.
And if all this were not enough, to ice the cake, she was recently recorded at a Somali or Muslim convention saying she wished she had gone to Minnesota. Well, this is America. Planes, trains, and buses leave regularly.
Bottom line: Whether any of this suggests denaturalization, a process triggered by concealing information in naturalization, or helping others to do so, is unclear. More simply, as a Maine citizen and taxpayer, I want this representative to apologize, to renounce Somalia, pledge her sole loyalty to America, or resign.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
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