A firestorm erupted on social media after Indiana’s RINO Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith sat down to meet with leaders of the state’s ballooning Haitian refugee population. The ire was further increased after Beckwith’s original post on X prevented both constituents and other accounts from commenting.
For context, the controversy erupted after Beckwith shared a post replete with images and commentary on meeting with religious leaders from the refugee Haitian population. “Yesterday, I sat with Haitian pastors from Marion County. Their people have endured earthquakes and violence, and now more than 40,000 are seeking asylum here in Indiana,” the state politician wrote on X in a post now seen over 3 million times.
He continued, “We spoke about barriers of language and culture while also discussing the power of faith and family. What I saw was not a community asking for a handout, but people determined to work hard, raise their children to become contributors to the great Hoosier state, and assimilate to the American way of life.”
Immediately, a ferocious backlash ensued, both to the content of the post but also because the “cowardly” man turned off comments, thus shielding himself from the ire of perhaps millions of Americans who cast a decisive vote for President Donald Trump and the rejection of housing more immigrants.
“Meet Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith of Indiana. @LGMicahBeckwith is inviting 40,000 Haitians to settle in Indiana to replace the native population and force them to compete with slave labor. Like a coward, Micah quickly shut down his replies on X because he was receiving so much backlash from his constituents. Kindly let Micah know how you feel about bringing in more disease, crime, violence, cannibalism, pet eating, lack of basic hygiene, and a backwards culture rooted in voodoo and Satan worship to Indiana,” the user Bad Hombre wrote above the original post.
“The Republican Lieutenant Governor of Indiana is causing outrage for advocating his state accept 40 THOUSAND Haitian ‘migrants.’ He has turned off comments on his posts. Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith also tried to backtrack, stating, “we should be open to helping them” if they want to do things ‘legally,'” Eric Daugherty commented.
“There is no such thing as ‘asylum’ for 40,000 people. Thats an invasion. This man is a traitor to his people, his state, and his country. We will remember your name Micah Beckwith,” the colorfully named Diocletian Reformer said tersely.
“Absolute deal breaker. Beckwith has proven to be a moral coward, more fearful of labels from shitlibs than any backlash from Hoosiers. 40,000 at once have absolutely no pressure whatsoever to assimilate. In fact the pressures reverse with this volume, where the community scorns assimilation as betrayal,” added another user.
After the internet brouhaha, the sellout state politician made a weak effort to explain away his decision. Quote-tweeting his original post, he offered a lengthy response, straddling the proverbial fence by reiterating his supposed support for a secure and closed border while also saying the American people shouldn’t “abandon love” by denying immigrant communities support.
“If you know my stance on immigration, you should also know the sentiment behind this. I have said time and time again that our borders should be shut down, and we need the federal government to halt any more asylum seekers until we can get a handle on the current crisis,” the explanation began.
“If people come in through the front door and legally enter the country with the intent to assimilate and raise their children as hardworking Americans, we should be open to helping them. I am not advocating for us to have Haitians come to America or Indiana. I am saying that if Haitians come to our state, they must do it legally, learn English, and assimilate to our culture.”
Beckwith commented on this follow up by concluding, “Ultimately, advocating for firmness does not mean abandoning love. I was letting these pastors know that they have a responsibility to care for their own community. It is their job to do that – it is not our job to fund them.”