A proposed resolution regarding welfare fraud has sparked a heated exchange within the Libertarian National Committee (LNC), exposing sharp divides over immigration rhetoric and professional conduct between Regional Representatives and the Party Chair.

Austin Martin (Region 1 Representative) introduced a motion titled “Resolution Condemning Welfare Fraud as Systemic Exploitation Enabled by Coercive Redistribution.” While the resolution’s primary aim was to denounce the “perverse incentives” of state welfare—citing $150 billion in fraud between 2020 and 2022, conflict arose over specific clauses linking welfare to immigration and demographics.

The controversy centered on a clause within the resolution arguing that the welfare state facilitates “pseudo-colonial exploitation” by drawing in “large-scale migration pipelines.” The text warned that these pipelines “risk undermining the political self-determination of Americans by altering electoral dynamics through engineered demographic shifts.”

Keith Thompson (Region 3 South Representative) was the first to object, arguing that the phrasing regarding “engineered demographic shifts” mirrored “far-right talking points about ‘great replacement theory.’” Thompson contended that migrants are often net taxpayers and that the language risked lumping the LP in with anti-libertarian movements. He also requested a citation for the $150 billion fraud figure, which Martin later provided by referencing the LP’s own “End the War on Poverty” webpage.

Despite the pushback, At-Large Representative Andrew Watkins moved the resolution as-is, and Region 1 Representative Andrew Chadderdon cosponsored it. Chadderdon defended the resolution’s framing, engaging in a brief debate with Thompson regarding the semantic distinction between coercive government welfare and voluntary private charity.

LNC Chair Steven Nekhaila then entered the conversation, reinforcing Thompson’s concerns regarding the immigration language. Nekhaila described the phrase “engineered demographic shifts” as “hairy” and an “odd way to say non-white or non-native born,” adding that “unlike Europe the US isn’t a white ethno-state.”

Nekhaila further criticized the resolution’s drafting style, suggesting it relied too heavily on buzzwords and felt “so much like AI that I lose the element of immersion.” He questioned the strategic value of the motion, asking if the LNC was simply expecting to “churn out” resolutions to “inundate our email list.”

In response to the Chair’s feedback, Martin defended his terminology. He claimed the term “pseudo-colonial exploitation”—which he noted he coined himself, describes a “statist tactic” used to “dilute” host populations and “prevent the host population from overthrowing a parasitic regime.”

Martin further accused Nekhaila of “injecting racism like some antifa-loser” into the discussion. Martin’s email signature, which initially solicited donations to remove “Cultural Communism” from the LP, was altered in his final response to read: “Join the fight and support the removal of Antifa-losers from the LP.”