WASHINGTON (TNND) — As President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown intensifies, some Democrats are pushing back.
Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been advising her millions of social media followers on how to evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
“What ICE tries to do is rely on people not knowing their rights in order to enter buildings, in order to search workplaces,” Ocasio-Cortez said in one video. “If you know your rights, you are able to tell them no, and they do walk away.”
Ocasio-Cortez has been posting webinars on the issue for years, but this week her posts caught the attention of President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan.
“Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts? If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? And so I’m working with the Department of Justice in finding out,” Homan said. “So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now.”
Ocasio-Cortez responded on X writing, “Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start.”
Homan visited New York City this week to meet with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss the immigration issue there. Adams announced that the city will now allow ICE agents to operate on Rikers Island, marking a notable shift in policy for the sanctuary city. Adams and Homan made a joint TV appearance on Fox News.
“And what is some of the things that we need to legislatively address that is preventing us from doing what we want to do, and that is getting dangerous people off our streets,” Adams said.
The news has unnerved some critics on the left. “The administration now has the mayor of America’s largest city in its back pocket. And they’re parading him around, making him do door knocks, he’s on Fox and Friends with Tom Homan doing all these appearances,” one critic said.
The visit came right after the Trump Administration revoked more than $80 million in funds from New York City over its sanctuary city policies, claiming the city is using federal funds to house illegal migrants in luxury hotels.