WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – In a vote on March 10th, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) once again positioned herself as Congress’s resident contrarian, casting the lone no vote on the Subterranean Border Defense Act.

The bill, which passed with a landslide 402-1 aims to combat Mexican cartels’ use of tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border – a bipartisan no-brainer, apparently, except to Tlaib, a member of the progressive “squad.”

Tunneling into controversy.

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The Subterranean Border Defense Act directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to report annually on cartel tunnel activity, a response to the alarming spike in such operations.

Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) co-led this effort, garnering overwhelming support across party lines. Crane said on the House floor, “Since 1990, officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the border, with an 80% increase in tunnel activity since 2008.”

Yet Tlaib, Michigan’s 12th District representative and self-styled progressive firebrand, stood alone in opposition. Her office has yet to provide an explanation, and she hasn’t addressed the vote on social media as of the publishing of this story, leaving room for speculation. Is she pro-tunnel, against border security, or simply averse to consensus?

Going against Biden and Kamala.

This isn’t Tlaib’s first rodeo with eyebrow-raising stances or going against the grain. She was in the thick of things during the “Uncommitted” movement last year urging Democrats to withhold voting for Biden and Harris because of their pro-Israel stances.

Tlaib’s latest crusade: defending a pro-Palestinian activist with alleged Hamas ties.

Tlaib is also rallying behind Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder facing deportation after leading pro- Palestinian protests on the Columbia University campus in New York. Federal immigration authorities arrested Khalil on Saturday night, following a State Department directive to cancel Khalil’s student visa and green card.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated Tuesday that Khalil was “granted the privilege of studying at one of our nation’s top universities, only to exploit that opportunity by aligning himself with terrorists.”

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A post on X on March 10th by Tlaib, defending Khalil – a 29-year-old Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate – shows her unwavering support for controversial figures.

Another Tlaib post on March 11th calls for his release, along with 13 other reps including Democrats Al Green, Ilhan Omar, Jasmine Crockett, and Ayanna Pressley.

Although Khalil is allegedly linked to Hamas, Tlaib and other Democrats are calling for his freedom. A federal judge recently blocked his immediate deportation and there is a hearing set for today at 11:30 a.m. EDT before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan federal court, a judge appointed by former President Barack Hussein Obama II.