Sunday, June 13, 2021

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Sounds The Alarm On Joe Biden's Justice Department

GETTYIMAGES | HANDOUT

Tyler MacDonald

THE INQUISTER
JUNE 13,2021

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday and sounded the alarm on President Joe Biden's Department of Justice.

As reported by Breitbart, anchor Dana Bash noted that Biden's DOJ is under fire for issuing gag orders against journalists and companies defending anti-LGBTQ laws.

Ocasio-Cortez responded by underlining that Biden's Justice Department also recently decided that it would "essentially" advance the second-class citizenship of Puerto Ricans.

"So I think the actions of Biden’s DOJ has been extremely concerning, and it’s not just on the actions on gag orders, which is also extremely concerning, but across the board."


Biden's Comments Conflict With DOJ

As reported by NBC News, Biden announced last week that his DOJ would defend the law the prevents Peurto Rico residents from gaining federal benefits for low-income disabled people. However, he claimed that this position runs contrary to his own values.

"As I have stated, I believe that Puerto Rico residents should be able to receive SSI benefits, just like their fellow Americans in all 50 states and Washington D.C.:"

Biden argued for the amendment of the Social Security Act, which he noted is the federal statute that the DOJ is defending as constitutional.

Critics Say The Statute Is Unconstitutional


Critics suggest that the statute is unconstitutional due to it effectively designating Peurto Ricans as second-class citizens.

Hermann Ferré, a lawyer for a U.S. citizen who lost Supplemental Security Income payments when he moved to Puerto Rico, commented on the legislation.

"While we are gratified the president has called attention to the importance of the case, we don’t see how it’s possible to defend a statutory scheme that, as the president rightly acknowledges, treats Puerto Rico residents as 'second-class citizens,'" he said.

"Such treatment is, by definition, unconstitutional under equal protection principles."

Ocasio-Cortez Slammed Biden's Immigration Policy


GETTYIMAGES | POOL


Ocasio-Cortez also recently took aim at Biden's immigration policy.

As The Inquisitr reported, the congresswoman made the remarks during an appearance on MSNBC's All In.

"This is about the Biden administration’s immigration policy writ large is not working. It’s wrong, and it’s inhumane."

According to Ocasio-Cortez, the issue began with the establishment of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security under the George W. Bush administration.

Both government factions were created after the September 11 attacks and are frequently criticized by progressives.

Ocasio-Cortez Previously Praised Biden


Despite Ocasio-Cortez's recent criticism of Biden, she previously praised the Democratic president for his work in the White House.

Per The Guardian, she said in April that Biden "exceeded" progressive expectations during a virtual town hall meeting.

The remark came after Biden passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus and rescue package without any Republican support.

Still, The Guardian noted that progressives were not pleased with Biden's nixing of the $15 per hour minimum wage following a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian.

No comments: