Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — the headline-grabbing, newly elected U.S. representative from New York — likened migrants who apply for refugee status to Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
Ocasio-Cortez's tweet Sunday was accompanied by a photo of a migrant family running from tear gas in front of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Tijuana, Mexico.
Asking to be considered a refugee & applying for status isn’t a crime. It wasn’t for Jewish families fleeing Germa… https://t.co/Tc2erdSHjo— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1543189978.0
What did Ocasio-Cortez leave out?
What Ocasio-Cortez — and the photo caption — didn't mention was that hundreds of migrants attempted to breach the border fence at Tijuana, which was why U.S. border agents shot tear gas at them Sunday.
In fact, Mexico’s Interior Ministry said around 500 migrants tried to “violently” enter the U.S., the Associated Press reported, adding that it would immediately deport those people and would reinforce security.
Rodney Scott, chief patrol agent of the San Diego Border Patrol sector, appeared on CNN Monday morning and defended agents' use of tear gas, telling the cable network hosts that the "vast majority" of migrants they're dealing with are "adult males" and that the group on Sunday threw rocks at agents:
What were some reactions to Ocasio-Cortez's Jews-fleeing-the-Holocaust comparison?
"The fact that you even think this is in the realm of the Holocaust absolutely stuns me," one Twitter user said. "You seriously have no grasp on reality. Do you even see what’s happening? Now that we’ve got the border in order, even Mexico wants these people out of their country."
Another added: "I don’t recall the Jews being violent when they wanted asylum. But you probably didn’t know that."
"This is nothing comparable to what occurred in Nazi Germany. Absolutely nothing," another user noted. "It's ... crazy to think that the violence in Central America is like Adolf Hitler wanting to wipe out an entire population."
What else has Ocasio-Cortez said about immigration?
During her campaign in July, Ocasio-Cortez called on progressive activists to “occupy” every U.S. airport, every Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, and all U.S. borders over family separation at the border.
Ocasio-Cortez also has been a primary proponent of the "Abolish ICE" movement, which hasn't gained much steam, even among Democrats.
(H/T: The American Mirror)