Socialist Ocasio-Cortez Calls For Occupation of Airports, ICE Offices
IMAGE CREDITS: SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES.
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Far-left New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called on protesters to “occupy” airports, border crossings, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices nationwide.
“We have to occupy all of it,” she told Democracy Now! on Monday. “We need to occupy every airport. We need to occupy every border. We need to occupy every ICE office until those kids are back with their parents, period.”
Ocasio-Cortez claimed that ICE is not in the business of immigration enforcement, despite that being in its very name.
“First of all, ICE is not [U.S. Customs and Border Protection],” she said. “When we talk about abolishing ICE, we’re talking about ending family detention. We’re talking about ending an agency and ending a practice and a structure that is not accountable to the U.S. Department of Justice, that often takes on things that look a lot like enforcement activities.”
“We have to show people that we’re willing to walk the walk and put our money where our mouth is,” she added.
Despite ICE becoming a big target for the far-left, Democrats are hesitant to go after the agency due to the majority of Americans supporting it and the radical optics of opposing immigration enforcement.
For example, Democrats introduced an “Abolish ICE” bill but then refused to vote on it, with some Democratic lawmakers admitting it was a “publicity stunt.”
However, Reps. Clay Higgins (R-La.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are crafting a “support ICE” bill that will be voted on the House floor on Wednesday.
“What I found so interesting is the Democrats introduced a bill to abolish ICE … we give them an opportunity, and they say they don’t want to vote for it, McCarthy said Monday.
Rather than allowing a vote against ICE, Republican leadership felt it better to record votes in favor of the agency.
“After being called on their bluff, Democrats ran scared from their own bill,” Speaker Paul Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement.
“Democrats will now have the chance to stand with the majority of Americans who support ICE and vote for this resolution, or follow the extreme voices on the far left calling for abolishment of an agency that protects us.”
It’s clear Ocasio-Cortez’s position of abolishing ICE is too extreme for mainline Democrats, especially during an election season, so it remains to be seen how she plans to achieve her vision of a borderless utopia.