Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan continued his days-long feud with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday, hinting that the Democratic congresswoman from New York could face prosecution for informing constituents of their rights during ICE raids.
During a stop by CNN’s “State of the Union,” Homan questioned whether AOC could be charged with impeding law enforcement after the representative shared information on the constitutional rights of people approached by ICE agents.
“I would ask the Department of Justice, where’s that line on impediment, right? That’s a broad statute. So I know impeding or someone stopping in front of me and putting their hands on my chest that you’re not coming in here to arrest that guy, that’s clearly impeding,” he said. “The Department of Justice, who are the prosecutors and decide who they prosecute and what the standards of that prosecution is. I simply say, at what point is that impeding? Because you can call it ‘know your rights’ all you want. We all know the bottom line is… how they evade law enforcement. Don’t open your door. Don’t answer questions.”
Homan did concede that there’s nothing wrong with informing the public but continued to question whether AOC crossed the line.
“They have the right to know their rights. The Constitution said they have the right to certain rights,” he said.” I hope to God we’re not educating people [who] are going to be the next murderer of a college student.”
Homan floated the idea of prosecuting AOC in a similar television appearance earlier this week. When he said that the congresswoman might “be in trouble,” AOC mocked the Trump adviser.
“MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw,” she wrote on X. “Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start.”
AOC expanded on her response in a statement to Fox News.
“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,” she shared. “I look forward to continuing our work in ensuring the safety of everyday New Yorkers while keeping families together.”
“State of the Union” host Dana Bash referred to the statement in her Sunday interview of Homan. The former head of ICE replied testily that he’s “forgot more about immigration law than AOC will ever know.”
Read more
about Tom Homan
