Over the weekend, a former federal prosecutor said that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and others who give illegal immigrants advice on how to avoid being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are “skirting the line” legally. This means that Ocasio-Cortez could get in trouble with the law.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, told “AOC” several times last week that she might be breaking federal law by making it harder for ICE agents to do their jobs. He also said that he is currently getting a legal opinion from the Justice Department about what “impediment” means, which could be a felony.
Friday during a show, Fox News host Bryan Llenas asked Fahey if Homan “has a point.”
“In a way, he does have a point here. “You know, when you compare what he is doing—trying to get rid of the worst criminals who are also here illegally—with what she is doing—fighting tooth and nail to keep them here,” Fahey began.
But I believe she’s straddling a few lines when it comes to a few things. One, is this getting in the way of the law? Are these webinars really meant to teach people, or are they just a trick to keep illegal immigrants in the country?” Fahey went on. Some of the things she says are very interesting, like when she talks about illegal immigrants as if they were normal Americans or something, like they have the right to be here.
“She is wrong about the law when she says it’s not a crime to be here illegally while making fun of Tom Homan. “Most of these people got in without permission, which is against the law,” he confirmed. There is also the federal harboring statute, which says that if you do anything to keep illegal immigrants from being deported or encourage illegal immigrants or people you know to be illegal immigrants to stay in the country illegally, you could be breaking that law as well. This is something that she and many sanctuary cities are doing.
“That’s getting pretty close to the line, and I don’t think she’s over it yet.” He also said, “Many of these sanctuary cities are already breaking the law and have been for five years. That will be their main reason to work with us.” “Is the DOJ going to look back at what they did, or are they going to align with us and work together?” I believe that most of them will work together.
In a webinar that was held in both English and Spanish by the congresswoman, Genia Blaser, an attorney for the Immigrant Defense Project, said, “ICE raids are political tactics, and they’re often meant to create fear.”
“There is a lot of fear right now.” When you’re scared, it’s very helpful to know things because you know things give you power, Blaser said. He also told the viewers that ICE agents are “often very aggressive and the encounters can happen really quickly.”
On her website, Ocasio-Cortez also has a flyer that tells illegal immigrants about “their rights.”
It said, “You do not have to open the door” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
It also tells them that ICE agents can’t go into someone’s home without a valid warrant signed by a judge. The poster said, “Ask them to put the warrant under the door.”
Her office also helps illegal immigrants get free legal help so they don’t have to be deported.