Sen. Lindsey Graham (S-S.C.) is wondering why Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats have been silent about the situation at the southern border.
“There used to be Democrats who understood, to get legalization on the table, you had to address the underlying causes of illegal immigration. Those voices have been silenced. The open-borders crowd is now firmly in control of immigration,” Graham said Wednesday.
He continued, “Where is AOC? Why aren’t you at the border looking at the things being reported? If you were worried about children under Trump being in bad conditions, this is worse. If you’re worried about people having COVID outbreaks, this is the biggest COVID spreader in the entire country. So where are you?”
Watch Graham’s remarks below:
Sen. Lindsey Graham: "Where is AOC? Why aren't you at the border looking at the things being reported?" pic.twitter.com/cSeUJ3VlOK
— The Hill (@thehill) March 24, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez has criticized both the Trump administration and Biden administration for the treatment of migrant children.
In 2018, she traveled to detention camps to protest, “The child detention camps are here – I confronted the border officers myself. Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
She added, “One of them made eye contact with me. I spoke directly to him. I saw his sense of guilt. We can dismantle this.”
The child detention camps are here – I confronted the border officers myself.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2018
Using their names, I told them exactly what they are responsible for.
One of them made eye contact with me.
I spoke directly to him.
I saw his sense of guilt.
We can dismantle this.#AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/QLyc9MAnkt
In 2019, Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to reflect on the moment she saw the facilities, “I’ll never forget this, because it was the moment I saw with my own eyes that the America I love was becoming a nation that steals refugee children from their parents, and caged them.”
She added, “More kids died after this. To date, no one has been held accountable. We need to save these kids.”
I’ll never forget this, because it was the moment I saw with my own eyes that the America I love was becoming a nation that steals refugee children from their parents,& caged them.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 25, 2019
More kids died after this. To date, no one has been held accountable.
We need to save these kids. https://t.co/HhdMqc5zML
After migrant facilities for children reopened under the Biden administration in February, Ocasio-Cortez expressed her frustration with the decision.
“This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay – no matter the administration or party,” she said in a tweet. “Our immigration system is built on a carceral framework. It’s no accident that challenging how we approach both these issues are considered ‘controversial’ stances.”
Ocasio-Cortez continued, “They require reimagining our relationship to each other and challenging common assumptions we take for granted. It’s only 2 [months] into this admin and our fraught, unjust immigration system will not transform in that time.”
Our immigration system is built on a carceral framework. It’s no accident that challenging how we approach both these issues are considered “controversial” stances.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 23, 2021
They require reimagining our relationship to each other and challenging common assumptions we take for granted.
It’s only 2 mos into this admin & our fraught, unjust immigration system will not transform in that time.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 23, 2021
That’s why bold reimagination is so impt.
DHS shouldn’t exist, agencies should be reorganized, ICE gotta go, ban for-profit detention, create climate refugee status & more.
She went on to argue, “That’s why bold reimagination is so [important]. DHS shouldn’t exist, agencies should be reorganized, ICE gotta go, ban for-profit detention, create climate refugee status and more.”
According to CNN, there were 822 children being held in Border Patrol facilities “akin to jail-like conditions” for more than 10 days as of Sunday.