The last time Border Patrol facilities were filled by a surge of illegal immigrants, during the Trump administration, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., made an infamous visit to the region and was photographed sobbing near a fence. But now that Joe Biden is President, AOC is MIA.
Ocasio-Cortez was famously visible at the border during Trump's tenure, deriding detention centers as "concentration camps," calling the president a "fascist," shouting down Border Patrol agents, and claiming detainees were forced to drink from toilets — a claim debunked when it was shown the facility's sink was merely set above the toilet.
But now Ocasio-Cortez is notably quiet, even as her fellow "squad" member, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is set to join a group of House Democrats on a visit to a Carrizo Springs, Texas, facility for unaccompanied children. The group is making the trip for "oversight to ensure humane treatment and orderly process to unite kids with families," the New York Post reported.
The Post reached out to an Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson for comment on whether she plans to also make the trip, but had yet to receive a response.
Ocasio-Cortez has spoken out previously about the Biden administration detaining unaccompanied migrant children, saying last month: "This is not OK, never has been OK, never will be OK – no matter the administration or party."
But she's also long refused to treat surges of illegal immigration as a "crisis," and charged that it was a "manufactured" mess during the Trump administration.
"This is a manufactured crisis because the cruelty is manufactured," Ocasio-Cortez told the House Oversight and Reform Committee after a ballyhooed 2019 border visit. "This is a manufactured crisis because there is no need for us to do this."
But the Biden administration is finding the borders suddenly flooded by illegal immigrants like never before, as migrants and unaccompanied children stream north. White House press secretary Jen Paski has mostly avoided calling the situation a "crisis" and deflected questions about perceived media lockouts near the border facilities.
By contrast, former President Donald Trump's administration was so transparent on the border influx of illegals and asylum seekers, he was criticized for hyping it up and accused of making it a campaign platform talking point.
Rep. Omar confirmed her attendance at the visit later this week, tweeting Monday: "I'll be there."
She was responding to Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, detailing the delegation's plans via Twitter:
"On Friday, I'll lead a delegation to the Carrizo Springs facility for unaccompanied children at the border — oversight to ensure humane treatment and orderly process to unite kids with families. For any member of Congress who would like to attend, please reach out to my office."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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