Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee Republican, Tells 11-Year-Old Her Father Should Be Deported As Tea Party Crowd Cheers [VIDEO]

Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais recently had a town hall meeting in Rutherford County, Tennessee. In the questions and answers portion of the event, 11-year-old Josie Molina took the opportunity to ask the representative about her father, who is about to be deported.

The frightened girl with a quavering voice, asked, "Mr. DesJarlais, I have papers, but I have a dad who's undocumented. What can I do to have him stay with me?"

Unfortunately for the little girl, DesJarlais answer wasn't the one she was hoping for. "Thank you for being here and thank you for coming forward and speaking. This is a big intimidating crowd and appreciate you coming forward and asking your question, but the answer still kinda remains the same."

"We have laws, and we need to follow those laws and you know, that's where we're at," he said. His remarks prompted applause from the large Tea Party contingent at the event.

Eben Cathey, a spokesman for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said Josie's father is facing deportation proceedings. Josie herself was born in the United States and is an American citizen, he said. ProgressivePopulist.org reported that the girl is seeing a child psychologist in order to cope with the stress and anxiety of losing her father to deportation.

After the video of Josie and DesJarlais encounter went viral, the comments it's gotten mostly show dismay for the congressman's "heartless" response. Some questioned why the politician didn't reply by telling her what steps her father needed to take to apply for a visa. Others claim the girl was wheeled out as part of a political stunt.

The far right congressman says on his website that he believes illegal immigration "burdens taxpayers, compromises national security, increases criminal activity, and erodes the significance of being an American citizen."

After the video of his response was uploaded online, the former physician, who's also pro-life, is facing a few skeletons coming out of the closet for saying the "laws are laws" line, after reports claim he committed adultery by sleeping with a patient, and then pressured his mistress to have an abortion in the hopes of hiding his misdeeds from the wife he allegedly abused.

How do you think the congressman should have handled that question?