Republican Congressman Brandon Gill has stirred controversy after claiming that parts of his home state are undergoing \u201cIslamisation,\u201d saying that visiting certain malls in Texas \u201cfeels like you\u2019re in Pakistan, not Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a video message shared on social media with the caption, \u201cMass Islamic migration is killing the America we know and love,\u201d Gill alleged that demographic changes in parts of Dallas have significantly altered the cultural character of local neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear from constituents all the time who are deeply and desperately concerned about the Islamisation of the Dallas area. They’re hearing about mosques that are popping up near land that they have owned for generations. They’re hearing about these epic city compounds that are popping up where you have entire communities that are being transformed,\u201d the Congressman said.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cWhen you hear constituents talking about going to their local malls, and you look around, and it feels like you’re in Pakistan, not Dallas, Texas, that’s a problem. You’re seeing our communities, our culture, the place that we know and love here being fundamentally transformed\u201d.<\/p>\n
Several, including Muslim community members in Texas, described the Congressman\u2019s comments as alienating and unrepresentative of the state\u2019s ethos. They pointed out that it promotes harmful stereotypes and unfairly single out Muslim Americans.<\/p>\n
A Pakistan-origin doctor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centre, Hasham Sarwar, responded to the comments by sharing a photograph of Gill posing with members of the Pakistani community while collecting funds for his campaign.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sharing Sarwar’s post, Mehdi Hasa, the British-American journalist of Indian origin, called Gill an \u201cIslamophobic fascist\u201d and said, “I\u2019m not sure who comes out worst from this pic: the hypocritical Gill or these Pakistani Americans who idiotically helped” him.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, political commentator Sara Spector pointed out that the accused in the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting, which left 23 people dead, was a \u201cwhite kid\u201d inspired by Trump.<\/p>\n
“A reminder that the El Paso Wal Mart shooter was a white kid from the suburbs who targeted dark-skinned people inspired by Trump’s rhetoric,” she wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Gill\u2019s remarks come amid a broader national debate within the Republican Party over immigration, border security and cultural integration.<\/p>\n
Texas, which shares a long border with Mexico, has been central to the immigration debate, though most migration flows involve Latin American migrants rather than South Asian or Muslim communities.<\/p>\n
Gill, who represents Texas\u2019 26th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, is known for making controversial and anti-immigration remarks.<\/p>\n
Days ago, he had claimed that Islam entered the United States through what he described as a \u201csuicidal immigration system\u201d that, in his view, would ultimately destroy America.<\/p>\n
‘Islam didn\u2019t come to the United States on the Mayflower. We imported it relatively recently via a suicidal immigration system. Importing radical Islam will destroy America just like it\u2019s destroying Europe right now,” he had said.<\/p>\n
Islam didn\u2019t come to the United States on the Mayflower. We imported it relatively recently via a suicidal immigration system.<\/p>\n
Importing radical Islam will destroy America just like it\u2019s destroying Europe right now. pic.twitter.com\/6r5Vit4Hon<\/a>\u2014 Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) February 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n