In an exclusive interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Democratic-socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – or AOC – said that immigration remains the Biden administration’s “weakest issue,” and claimed that immigrants coming to New York City are being prevented from sustaining and supporting themselves.
“Immigration is arguably this administration’s weakest issue. This is one area where our policy is dictated by politics, arguably more so than almost any other. There are very clear recommendations and suggestions that we have made to the administration to provide relief on this issue, and it’s my belief that some of the hesitation around this has to do with a fear around just being seen as approving or providing permission structures, or really just the Republican narratives that have surrounded immigration,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez told the paper of record.
“We also need to examine the root causes of this migration and address that this problem doesn’t start at our border, but it starts with our foreign policy,” she added, and further suggested, “The issue that New Yorkers have is not that there are immigrants coming to New York City, but that immigrants are being prevented from sustaining and supporting themselves. We have New Yorkers, and we have New York businesses, that want to receive migrants and want to employ migrants.”
The congresswoman, who is a noted member of the progressive block of Congressional lawmakers known as the Squad, maintained that the Empire State’s agricultural sector “wants to hire migrants” as does the hospitality sector. Ocasio-Cortez said the issue is with the White House, which has put up barriers.
“The Biden administration’s refusal to open up work authorizations or extend temporary protective status really prevents us from doing what we do best, which is allowing and creating an environment where immigrants from all over the world can create a livelihood here,” the congresswoman continued, while also pointing to the fact that under Biden, more asylum seekers are now being held in private detention centers than under former President Donald Trump.
“Families are still being separated,” she explained. “The Biden administration kept Trump-era policies that sped up deportations and made it harder for legitimate claimants to come to the U.S.”
Why No AOC on the Border?
When asked why she hadn’t visited the southern border – as she had done during the Trump administration, Ocasio-Cortez said she had plans to but was more focused on the crisis that is impacting New York City and that has included tours of facilities in the Big Apple.
“Right now, this crisis is in our own backyard, and we have toured the Roosevelt Hotel, and I think it’s been very important for us to — especially to my constituents, who are demanding accountability on this — to look at that front line that is right here in New York City,” she further noted.
The White House Responded
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Biden’s handling of the southern border.
“The president has done more to secure the border and to deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else. He really has,” Jean-Pierre stated and added, “Look, the president has done what he can from here, from the federal government, from the White House to put forth and manage our border in a safe and humane way to respect the dignity of every human, as he says all the time, and making sure that our communities are safe.”
Jean-Pierre further cast blame at Republican makers, claiming “the system is broken” and that it is the GOP that now refuses to “work with the White House in a bipartisan way.”
AOC is hardly alone in casting blame on the White House for the ongoing border crisis. On Thursday, the editorial board of the Boston Herald suggested Biden’s message to city and state leaders around the country who are struggling to provide housing and care for the unending influx of migrants in their communities, was in essence “Not my problem.”
The U.S. Border Patrol reported that it had apprehended more than 7,000 migrants who crossed the border illegally on Tuesday. The figure was in contrast to the White House’s claim that there had been a reduction in illegal crossings.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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