Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, is going viral on social media after he posted a video of his experience attempting to get an illegal migrant from Venezuela into the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In the viral video viewed by the likes of Elon Musk, Cortes attempted to get a 21-year-old Venezuelan national named Edwin into the Democratic Party’s convention without any credentials or identification in an effort to highlight the Democrats’ “hypocrisy” and “duplicity” when it comes to the differences of security of their events and the U.S. southern border.
🚨NEW VIDEO🚨
The DNC is more secure than America’s border.
When a Venezuelan migrant tried to get into the DNC, he was denied due to lack of ID, failure to submit an application, and no credentials.
Why is Kamala enforcing the rules at her convention but not at our border? pic.twitter.com/YrFLzEC6SC
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) August 21, 2024
As Cortes attempted to get Edwin into two separate gates surrounding the convention’s perimeter, security and police personnel said the migrant needed “credentials and permission” to get into the convention.
Cortes then attempted to obtain said credentials for Edwin at the DNC Credentials Office, however, was turned away for not completing an application process beforehand.
On Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Cortes said that while he knew Edwin would be turned away from the convention, he thought the “hypocrisy” needed to be documented and shown to Americans.
“I thought, let’s highlight [the Democrats’] hypocrisy and their duplicity. We needed to show it. We needed to show up at the gates. We actually went to two different gates and were firmly rebuffed at both of them. We also went to the credentialing office because we were told to go there. We were kicked out of the credentialing office. And of course, I knew we would be because the Democrats and the DNC believe in borders. They believe in rules and processes and filters and that you can’t come in unless you have permission. That’s life. That’s normal. That’s acceptable and proper, but they don’t believe in it for the United States,” Cortes said.
“That’s the point I wanted to make that he is not just allowed, but he is in fact welcomed and incentivized to trespass into our country but not into the celebration of the DNC here in Chicago. There, they do believe in security. They believe in walls. They believe in guns and rules and regulations and I thought it was important to physically show that to people…I hope it opens people’s eyes to say, ‘Wait a second, if they can guard the DNC…why don’t we guard the United States? Why don’t we have rules and procedures and border walls and credentials and documents to come into the United States?’ Because we don’t,” Cortes added.
Cortes said he encountered Edwin at a building in Chicago that used to be the high-class Standard Club which has since been converted into a hotel for migrants.
Edwin, who does not speak English and is unemployed, told Cortes via translator that he was the first American he has met since arriving in the U.S. six months ago.
“He told me that – this was actually sad – he said he’s been here for six months and I was the first American he has met. Think about that. He only knows migrants. Not only is this bad for us, but it’s a bad deal for America. It’s also bad for the migrants. We’re putting them in an impossible situation as well,” Cortes said.
Cortes went on to say that he “doesn’t blame” migrants like Edwin who come to the U.S. on the taxpayer dime as the Biden administration is “incentivizing” illegal immigration.
“I don’t blame the migrants. They’re making a rational choice. If you’re a poor man in Guatemala, or a poor man in Caracas and Joe Biden is saying, ‘You come in, I’m going to pay your room and board, I’m going to allow you to come to the United States, not just allow you, I’m going to incentivize you. It’s a rational choice. I don’t blame the migrants. I blame the Dems. I blame Biden. I blame Kamala Harris,” Cortes said.
Cortes also noted how Edwin was knowledgeable of the political scene in America, explaining how the migrant expressed concern about a second Trump presidency.
“One thing I did ask him is, I said, ‘Are you worried about Trump getting elected?’ He said, ‘Heck yes, we all are.’ He said, ‘Trump’s going to deport us.’ And look, I like this young man. And again, I think he made a rational choice. But you know what? He doesn’t get to cut the line and get in front of legal migrants who have done the difficult, expensive, time consuming process to become a legal migrant in this country,” Cortes said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Steve Cortes” by Steve Cortes.
