New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that the U.S. government is “running concentration camps on our southern border” to hold migrants.
“That is exactly what they are. They are concentration camps,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a live-stream on her Instagram. “The fact that concentrations camps are now an institutionalized practice in the Home of the Free is extraordinarily disturbing and we need to do something about it,” she continued.
WATCH:
Ocasio-Cortez falsely claims Trump is operating concentration camps, compares the situation to the Holocaust: “The U.S. is running concentration camps on our southern border and that is exactly what they are. … ‘Never Again’ means something … we need to do something about it” pic.twitter.com/F2MmZ8y2dT
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 18, 2019
“I don’t use those words lightly. I don’t use those words to just throw bombs. I use that word because that is what an administration that creates concentration camps is,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “A presidency that creates concentration camps is fascist, and it’s very difficult to say that.” (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez On Illegal Immigrants: ‘I Don’t Care If You’re Documented Or You’re Undocumented’)
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments sparked push-back from Republicans in Congress, like Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney who said the freshman representative needs to “do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history.” Cheney also mentioned that “6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this.”
Please @AOC do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history. 6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this. https://t.co/NX5KPPb2Hl
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 18, 2019
In June 2018, Ocasio-Cortez explained her belief that abolishing the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is “common sense” during an interview on CNN.