"The Fourth Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "He can threaten me with jail and call names all he wants. He's got nothing else."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.
(Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Feb 18, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday dared Trump immigration czar Tom Homan to pursue an investigation against her after he attacked the New York Democrat in two television appearances and said he has asked the Justice Department to "look into" whether she violated the law by holding a webinar informing constituents of their rights.
"This is why you fight these cowards. The moment you stand up to them, they crumble," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media after Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), called her "the dumbest congresswoman ever elected to Congress" in an interview on the far-right network Newsmax.
The resort to a personal attack, said the New York Democrat, shows that "Homan has nothing."
"The Fourth Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights," she added. "He can threaten me with jail and call names all he wants. He's got nothing else."
Less than an hour later, Ocasio-Cortez wrote "go ahead" in response to a separate interview in which Homan told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he has asked the deputy attorney general to examine whether the New York congresswoman's webinar amounted to teaching people "how to evade ICE arrest."
"Let the people see you for what you are," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response.
Homan, whom President Donald Trump has tasked with spearheading the new administration's mass deportation efforts, has repeatedly attacked Ocasio-Cortez in recent days as the White House zeroes in on New York City with the help of disgraced Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, the beneficiary of an out-in-the-open quid pro quo arrangement that is now at the center of a legal and political controversy.
On her congressional website, Ocasio-Cortez—who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens—has a page devoted to informing her constituents of their legal rights when faced with ICE agents.
'Unconstitutional threat’: Trump border czar under fire over AOC DOJ request
Tom Homan walks back to the White House after a television interview at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/
David Badash
THE NEW CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
February 17, 2025
Concerns are growing after President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, announced he has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate whether U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) violated federal law by hosting a webinar informing undocumented immigrants of their civil rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Calling Homan’s remarks “extremely disturbing,” civil rights attorney and longtime public defender Scott Hechinger wrote: “There is nothing more unconstitutional than threatening to punish someone for sharing information about the Constitution.”
And in a video, he added that what Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is doing is “nothing more than sharing rights, knowledge of rights, knowledge of the Constitution with her immigrant constituents.”
“There is nothing more constitutional than sharing education about the Constitution,” he said. And he declared that the “bottom line is that this is a tactic of fear. This is a tactic of terror.”
“They’re not only coming for our immigrant neighbors, they’re coming for all of us, and they’re coming for all of us for simply sharing what the Constitution says, because knowledge they know is power, and they want to maintain full and unadulterated power over all of us.”
“What they’re doing by even suggesting that AOC’s conduct or any of our conduct related to sharing rights is illegal in some way, is illegal. It’s unconstitutional. It’s suppression of speech, it’s suppression of truth, and it’s not okay.”
Homan told Fox News on Monday, “I’ve asked DOJ, where where’s that line of impedment?” he said repeatedly, appearing to mean “impediment.”
“Now if someone stands in your way, prevents you from arresting somebody, put your hands on him, that’s impedment.”
“So I’ve simply Department of Justice, give us that line,” he said, claiming he finds it “disturbing” that “any member of Congress wants to educate people how they evade law enforcement.”
“What she in fact is doing is telling people, ‘don’t open your door,’ ‘hide in your home’, ‘don’t talk to ICE,'” Homan said. “We’re talking about people who are in the country illegally, committed a crime, they’re a public safety threat, they’ve been convicted of serious crime, and they’ve been ordered removed by federal judge. So it’s like AOC and others don’t want ICE to enforce the laws that they enacted.”
But ICE is not only arresting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious crime, they are also, according to reports, arresting Americans.
“American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations ordered by President Donald Trump in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day 1,” NBC News reported late last month. “Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses.”
Homan’s repeated presence on Fox News may also indicate that his public relations efforts are taking precedence, since ICE has not been able to find enough undocumented immigrants to arrest to meet their alleged quotas.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is struggling to arrest higher numbers of immigrants and falling far short of the administration’s goals,” The Washington Post reported over the weekend. “ICE arrests have sagged so far this month, according to data provided by the Department of Homeland Security, declining from about 800 per day in late January after Trump took office to fewer than 600 during the first 13 days of February. The administration has stopped publishing daily numbers, and Trump officials said they will release the data on a monthly basis to conserve resources.”
Last week, Homan made essentially the same remarks, also on Fox News. He added, “I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now.”
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez quickly mocked him.
In a statement to Fox News AOC also said, “I am glad Mr. Homan is checking with the Department of Justice to familiarize himself with the limits of his agency’s authority in entering the homes of everyday Americans without a warrant. And I am proud to offer civil education to everyday Americans to ensure ICE’s compliance with the law, given the numerous reports of agents providing incorrect paperwork in their attempts to enter and search private homes.”
“Since Mr. Homan seems to be vaguely familiar with U.S. immigration law, we also remind him that according to Congressional statute, becoming undocumented in the United States is a civil offense and not a criminal one. I look forward to continuing our work in ensuring the safety of everyday New Yorkers while keeping families together.”
Watch the videos above or at the link.
Concerns are growing after President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, announced he has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate whether U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) violated federal law by hosting a webinar informing undocumented immigrants of their civil rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Calling Homan’s remarks “extremely disturbing,” civil rights attorney and longtime public defender Scott Hechinger wrote: “There is nothing more unconstitutional than threatening to punish someone for sharing information about the Constitution.”
And in a video, he added that what Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is doing is “nothing more than sharing rights, knowledge of rights, knowledge of the Constitution with her immigrant constituents.”
“There is nothing more constitutional than sharing education about the Constitution,” he said. And he declared that the “bottom line is that this is a tactic of fear. This is a tactic of terror.”
“They’re not only coming for our immigrant neighbors, they’re coming for all of us, and they’re coming for all of us for simply sharing what the Constitution says, because knowledge they know is power, and they want to maintain full and unadulterated power over all of us.”
“What they’re doing by even suggesting that AOC’s conduct or any of our conduct related to sharing rights is illegal in some way, is illegal. It’s unconstitutional. It’s suppression of speech, it’s suppression of truth, and it’s not okay.”
Homan told Fox News on Monday, “I’ve asked DOJ, where where’s that line of impedment?” he said repeatedly, appearing to mean “impediment.”
“Now if someone stands in your way, prevents you from arresting somebody, put your hands on him, that’s impedment.”
“So I’ve simply Department of Justice, give us that line,” he said, claiming he finds it “disturbing” that “any member of Congress wants to educate people how they evade law enforcement.”
“What she in fact is doing is telling people, ‘don’t open your door,’ ‘hide in your home’, ‘don’t talk to ICE,'” Homan said. “We’re talking about people who are in the country illegally, committed a crime, they’re a public safety threat, they’ve been convicted of serious crime, and they’ve been ordered removed by federal judge. So it’s like AOC and others don’t want ICE to enforce the laws that they enacted.”
But ICE is not only arresting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious crime, they are also, according to reports, arresting Americans.
“American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations ordered by President Donald Trump in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day 1,” NBC News reported late last month. “Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses.”
Homan’s repeated presence on Fox News may also indicate that his public relations efforts are taking precedence, since ICE has not been able to find enough undocumented immigrants to arrest to meet their alleged quotas.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is struggling to arrest higher numbers of immigrants and falling far short of the administration’s goals,” The Washington Post reported over the weekend. “ICE arrests have sagged so far this month, according to data provided by the Department of Homeland Security, declining from about 800 per day in late January after Trump took office to fewer than 600 during the first 13 days of February. The administration has stopped publishing daily numbers, and Trump officials said they will release the data on a monthly basis to conserve resources.”
Last week, Homan made essentially the same remarks, also on Fox News. He added, “I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now.”
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez quickly mocked him.
In a statement to Fox News AOC also said, “I am glad Mr. Homan is checking with the Department of Justice to familiarize himself with the limits of his agency’s authority in entering the homes of everyday Americans without a warrant. And I am proud to offer civil education to everyday Americans to ensure ICE’s compliance with the law, given the numerous reports of agents providing incorrect paperwork in their attempts to enter and search private homes.”
“Since Mr. Homan seems to be vaguely familiar with U.S. immigration law, we also remind him that according to Congressional statute, becoming undocumented in the United States is a civil offense and not a criminal one. I look forward to continuing our work in ensuring the safety of everyday New Yorkers while keeping families together.”
Watch the videos above or at the link.
"ICE does not have the right to enter your home without a valid warrant signed by a judge," reads a flyer produced by Ocasio-Cortez's office, a message that was echoed during last week's webinar.
Days after the webinar, Homan said in a Fox News appearance that he "sent an email" to the deputy attorney general asking whether Ocasio-Cortez is illegally "impeding our law enforcement efforts."
"Maybe he can learn to read," the New York Democrat wrote in response. "The Constitution would be a good place to start."
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