Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, has finally addressed the border crisis — but only to accuse anyone using the term “surge” of pushing a “white supremacist” philosophy.
AOC blames the migrant surge on White Supremacy
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has repeatedly been accused of ducking the dangerously overcrowded migrant detention centers despite saying they were akin to “concentration camps” under the previous administration.
She initially appeared outraged when asked during an Instagram Live ask-me-anything session why she was “not addressing the border crisis and the kids in cages like you used to” — asking after a pause, “Are you for real?”
“It’s not a border crisis. It’s an Imperialism crisis, it’s a climate crisis, it’s a trade crisis. And also it’s a carceral crisis,” she said, without directly addressing the kids-in-cages allegation itself.
“But people don’t want to have that conversation. They want to say, ‘But what about the surge?’” AOC said.
“Well, first of all, just — gut check. Stop. Anyone who’s using the term ‘surge’ around you, consciously, is trying to invoke a militaristic frame,” she insisted.
“And that’s a problem, because this is not a surge. These are children and they are not insurgents and we are not being invaded.
“Which, by the way, is a white supremacist philosophy. The idea that if another is coming in the population that this is an invasion of who we are,” the congresswoman continued.
“If you do want to zero in on the conditions of this moment,” she said –adding only a vague explanation of it reflecting problems with the US “carceral system” that “black and abolitionist organizers have already been talking about for a long time.”
AOC says “It’s not a border crisis”, calls “surge” a white supremacist idea. 🤪🤡 pic.twitter.com/cncA6eRHOK
— McCarthyism2.0 (@mccarthyism2024) March 31, 2021
Why would brown people sneak into a “racist country?”
Her claims quickly sparked outrage online, especially among those seeing the crisis first-hand, unlike AOC who has yet to visit.
“I’ve been using the term ‘surge’ because there’s a higher than usual amount of people illegally crossing into the U.S.,” tweeted Marine veteran Julio Rosas, who is now reporting from the border for the conservative outlet Townhall.com.
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes on a nightly basis for the past week,” he wrote.
“Yes, there are kids here, often by themselves. It’s emotionally taxing to see that night after night because God only knows what they’ve been through.
“Funny how AOC raced down to TX for the winter storm but she can’t be bothered to come down now to see what’s happening,” Rosas added in another tweet.
Tucker 100% Right About AOC pic.twitter.com/8zw7wp6Djv
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) April 2, 2021