Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is reportedly leveraging comments made by Florida gubernatorial candidate Congressman Byron Donalds regarding due process and immigration to help fuel her fundraising efforts.
“First and foremost, when the framers wrote our Constitution, they never envisioned that there would be an executive that would allow millions of people to come into the country illegally. They never fathomed that,” Donalds told Meet The Press NOW host Kristin Welker.
He further argued that the Biden administration was abusing border security laws, allowing millions to enter, and then using the court system to delay enforcement.
“When it comes to due process, that is a privilege reserved for American citizens. When people are in our country illegally, there’s a semblance of due process, but not nearly at the level of a United States citizen. There are two different standards,” Donalds added. “You come to America, you are a guest in the United States. That privilege can be revoked, and a lot of these illegal aliens were not guests. They showed up at the Southern Border. Joe Biden abused our laws, ignored our laws, and let them in. So what are the American people supposed to say about that?”
According to Raw Story, Ocasio-Cortez refuted Donald’s claims in a fundraising email sent Monday evening.
“Representative Byron Donalds made a fool of himself on national television, saying that constitutional rights are only for US citizens. That is incorrect,” she stated. She emphasized that constitutional rights are tied to the “soil” of the United States, arguing, “This is the land of the free. It’s not that there are some people that have rights and other people that don’t have rights. We are a nation of due process. The government is required to conduct itself along the standards of due process.”
However, Donalds argued that the Fifth Amendment’s wording, which states, “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” does not explicitly extend the full scope of due process rights to those violating U.S. immigration law.
Ocasio-Cortez also accused Donalds of “going on television trying to rip the Constitution apart, trying to tell people that America is not America.”
This rebuke comes amid broader tensions surrounding immigration policy, with some, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling for a Department of Justice investigation into Ocasio-Cortez’s past actions and statements regarding immigration enforcement.
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During a town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, Ocasio-Cortez taunted border czar Tom Homan to “come” for her, escalating public tensions that began in February. Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Noem whether the congresswoman’s remarks could be considered “aiding and abetting” and whether the DOJ should “look into this situation.”
“I think the Department of Justice absolutely should look into this situation,” Noem said. “We’ve seen not just those that serve in public office be willing to break the law to facilitate the invasion that has happened and allow criminals to stay here. We’ve also seen judges take radical action to help protect these criminals. It’s time that we stand for what’s right.”
On Feb. 12, Ocasio-Cortez hosted a virtual event on her Facebook page titled “Know Your Rights With ICE,” where she advised illegal migrants on how to respond to encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at home or in the workplace.
Days after the event, Homan warned Ocasio-Cortez, saying he had begun working with the DOJ to determine whether her webinar obstructed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
“She’s out there telling people how to evade enforcement, how to evade ICE arrests, and, again, the most dangerous of the illegal aliens in the country, giving them heads up, and I’ll say it again. I hope she’s not educating the next murderer of a college nursing student or not educating the next illegal alien who’s gonna burn a woman alive on a subway,” Homan said.
READ: Border Clash: Welker’s Due Process Claim Sparks Debate With Florida Rep. Byron Donalds
Meanwhile, frustration with Ocasio-Cortez has reached a boiling point in her Queens and Bronx district. According to the New York Post on Saturday, constituents are increasingly vocal about feeling marginalized by the congresswoman’s focus on national issues and perceived self-promotion.
Residents complain of limited access to her district offices, infrequent town hall meetings, and a general sense that their concerns—jobs, public safety, and traffic—are being ignored. Lauro Vazquez of Woodside, Queens, told The Post, “This woman has done nothing for the community she was once again elected to serve,” a sentiment reportedly echoed throughout her district.
The Post highlighted a recent town hall where Ocasio-Cortez reportedly spent less than an hour with constituents before departing abruptly. The event had already been postponed due to her illness following a nationwide “Fighting the Oligarchy” tour with Bernie Sanders, prompting Vazquez to remark sarcastically about her jet-setting while neglecting local needs.
Critics like Republican City Council candidate Ramses Frias have labeled Ocasio-Cortez an “absentee landlord,” disconnected from the daily realities of her working-class constituents and more focused on national celebrity than local service, according to the Post.
As Ocasio-Cortez utilizes the debate over Donalds’ comments for fundraising, she faces the challenge of reconciling her national profile with the growing dissatisfaction within her own district, where constituents feel their representative is more concerned with the national stage than their everyday struggles.
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