Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) recently defended fellow freshman Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), who’s facing ongoing criticism for calling immigrant detention centers “concentration camps.”
Ocasio-Cortez made the comment during a Tuesday night live stream on Instagram, and has continued to stand by her remarks.
“This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying,” she wrote on Twitter. “This is not hyperbole. It is the conclusion of expert analysis.”
This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying.
This is not hyperbole. It is the conclusion of expert analysis ⬇️https://t.co/2dWHxb7UuL
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 18, 2019
She later accused the GOP of supporting the building of “mass concentration camps on the southern border.”
“Kids and families are dying. Now they want money for more—with zero negotiation on how money is spent,” she added.
The GOP has supported building mass concentration camps on the southern border. Kids & families are dying.
Now they want money for more – w/ ZERO negotiation on how $ is spent.
We can’t do that. They‘ve shown that when they get more money, they build more camps. #CloseTheCamps https://t.co/DYhXuU9Crz
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 22, 2019
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) called her comments “embarrassing” and demanded she apologize.
“I think Congresswoman AOC needs to apologize, not only to the nation but to the world,” he said. “To take something that happened in history where millions of Jews had died, and equate it to somewhere that’s happening on the border, she owes this nation an apology.”
Ocasio-Cortez, however, said she will “never apologize” for the comments, saying “if that makes you uncomfortable, fight the camps.”
Omar defended her colleague’s use of the term “concentration camps” when speaking with reporters Friday.
“There are camps and people are being concentrated. This is very simple. I don’t even know why this is a controversial thing for her to say,” Omar said. “We have to really truthfully speak about what’s taking place, and this is why it’s really important for us to abolish ICE and make sure that we have an agency that is accountable to the people, that is dealing with the situation in a humane way.”
“There are camps and people are being concentrated. This is very simple. I don’t even know why this is a controversial thing for her to say," @IlhanMN says before calling for abolishing ICE.pic.twitter.com/fRrk318rYx
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) June 21, 2019
“There’s no way that we can allow for kids to be caged in this country” she added. “We have to make sure that we are calling it out and I am 100 percent with Alex.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
