Border czar Tom Homan recalled Sunday on Fox News how he had to educate Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about the inner workings of border law after her recent public pushback telling him to “learn to read” the Constitution.
In 2019, Homan stopped Ocasio-Cortez’s attack against him during a congressional hearing, where he had to inform her that border laws mirrored U.S. laws when discussing family separation. On “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” the Fox News host asked Homan for his response to Ocasio-Cortez, who had recently posted on X, stating Homan should “learn to read” and start with the Constitution in response to his Department of Justice (DOJ) warning.
“Look, I forgot more about the Constitution and immigration enforcement than she’ll ever know. I mean, I had to educate her during congressional testimony that entering a country illegally is a crime,” Homan said. “But what she needs to do is read the statutes enacted by Congress. Title VIII, United States Code 1324 and 25. That’s what she needs to read. Because it’s illegal to enter this country.”
“It’s a crime to enter this country illegally. Not only that, when you harbor and conceal and impede law enforcement, that’s a felony. So what she’s doing, she says she’s, you know, educating them as to their constitutional rights,” Homan added. “We all know they’ve got constitutional rights. But what she’s really doing, you and I and the rest of the country knows, she’s trying to teach them how to evade law enforcement.”
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During a July 2019 congressional hearing on family separations at the border, Homan and Ocasio-Cortez were seen sparring after she attempted to pin him as the “author” of the “family separation policy” memo he had signed. However, Homan quickly clarified that he did not write the policy and reminded the Democratic lawmaker that U.S. citizens are also separated from their children after being arrested.
Homan went on to warn that Ocasio-Cortez is teaching illegal migrants how to “evade” law enforcement, adding that he hopes anyone listening to her doesn’t end up murdering “a young college student in Georgia,” referring to slain 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
“Now, I just said we’re out of the gate. We’re concentrating on public safety threats, national security threats. So she’s educating those in the country illegally with a significant criminal conviction, public safety threat. ‘Don’t open your door. Don’t talk to us. Here’s how you evade law enforcement,’” Homan continued.
“Let’s hope she’s not educating the next person who gets out and murders a young college student in Georgia,” Homan said. “These are bad people we’re looking for. So she can call it education all she wants, but we all know it’s about evading law enforcement. These people have been ordered removed. The people we’re looking for now have final orders. They’re criminals. They’re in the country illegally.”
During a virtual event through Ocasio-Cortez’s Facebook page on Jan. 11, titled “Know Your Rights With ICE,” the New York lawmaker advised illegal migrants on how to handle situations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, either at their home or workplace.
In response, Homan later warned her that he is working with the DOJ to determine whether the lawmaker legally crossed “the line” by potentially impeding ICE agents’ duties. However, the Democratic lawmaker mocked the warning on X, writing, “‘MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw’ Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start.”
While it is unclear if the DOJ will take action against Ocasio-Cortez’s Facebook event, Homan stated he’s asked the department for a legal opinion on the issue, asking if the actions were “impediment.”
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America
