Hillary Clinton criticizes Musk, Vance, and GOP’s birthrate push as anti-women, calls immigration policies contradictory and harmful.

Clinton Warns of ‘Christian Nation’ Narrative

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Republican efforts to boost the national birthrate, warning that the agenda is rooted in religious nationalism and outdated gender roles. Speaking at the Newmark Civic Life Series in Manhattan on May 1, Clinton named Vice President JD Vance and businessman Elon Musk as leading voices in the movement.

“There is a very blatant effort to basically send a message… that what we really need from you women are more children,” Clinton said. She suggested the message reduces women to reproductive roles and reinforces narrow definitions of family life, as reflected in political rhetoric and proposals linked to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

Musk, a father of ten, has repeatedly warned of the dangers of population decline. Vance, speaking at the March for Life earlier this year, encouraged American families to have more children. Both have drawn praise from conservatives for promoting what they frame as family-centered values.

Clinton countered that these messages ignore demographic realities and contradict Republican immigration policies. “The people who produce the most children in our country are immigrants, and they want to deport them. So none of this adds up,” she said.

Critique of Immigration Policy and ‘Project Homecoming’

Clinton’s comments come as the Trump administration launches “Project Homecoming,” a voluntary self-deportation initiative offering illegal immigrants a $1,000 stipend and government-funded flights home. The first flight took off Monday from Texas, carrying 64 migrants to Honduras and Colombia.

DHS stated that the program is part of a broader plan to reduce enforcement costs, claiming the average cost of traditional deportation exceeds $17,000. President Donald Trump signed the executive order earlier this month and said the program could save “billions and billions” in taxpayer dollars. Participants retain the option to apply for legal reentry in the future.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem urged migrants to take advantage of the offer. “If you are here illegally… self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way,” she posted on X.

Clinton called such immigration policies hypocritical, especially when paired with Republican-led initiatives aimed at raising birthrates while cutting public support programs for families. “This is another performance about concerns they allegedly have for family life,” she said. She pointed to Republican efforts to reduce access to healthcare, education, and child support resources as proof that pro-family rhetoric is not backed by policy commitments.

She further argued that immigrants—both legal and undocumented—have strengthened the U.S. economy by maintaining labor force numbers and contributing to population growth. “Our economy did so much better than comparable advanced economies… because we had a lot of immigrants who had larger-than-normal families,” Clinton stated.

Clinton concluded that the GOP’s push to “make America great again” is not a forward-looking strategy, but rather an attempt to return the country to the social and economic norms of the mid-20th century. “Let’s keep going back as far as we can. And see what happens,” she said.

As debates over immigration, demographics, and family policy intensify, Clinton’s remarks reflect a growing ideological clash between traditionalist narratives and modern, inclusive frameworks.