The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is standing firm on its commitment to enforcing the law, with Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin making it clear that lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), are not above the rules. In a bold statement, McLaughlin emphasized that if AOC engages in trespassing or assault against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the Trump administration would not hesitate to take action, including making arrests. This strong stance is a direct response to the continued efforts by far-left lawmakers to undermine immigration enforcement.
In a recent interview on Fox Business, McLaughlin made it clear that an arrest would be "on the table" if Ocasio-Cortez trespasses or assaults U.S. ICE agents. Her warning came after the Democratic congresswoman posted a video on Sunday, praising Representatives Rob Menendez Jr., Bonnie Watson Coleman, and LaMonica McIver, as well as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D), for storming a New Jersey ICE facility last week.
“If she trespasses and if she assaults law enforcement officers, as we saw earlier, I think that’s certainly on the table. As far as we’ve heard, a lot of Democrats make the argument that they’re just conducting oversight, congressional oversight,” she said.
In her video, AOC issued a warning to DHS, saying, "You lay a finger on Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman or any of the representatives there, and we're going to have a problem.”
"And it is enshrined in the law that members of Congress who show up to ICE and CBP facilities are required to be granted access, legally required to be granted access, and they legally cannot be inhibited from accessing these facilities to conduct their constitutional obligation to investigate and conduct oversight," AOC's rant continued.
McLaughlin called it “political gamesmanship” and countered the Democrats' claims, stating that the lawmakers and the mayor were detained by protesters at the facility’s first checkpoint when they attempted to "storm" through the gates as they opened for a detention bus.
“We know that’s baloney because had they asked us, had they requested a tour…we would have happily facilitated that for them as well,” McLaughlin said. “There are public guidelines that we have offered, including that they need to notify us 24 hours in advance if they would like a tour of the facility. So, again, this is all political gamesmanship, and we’re not playing with the safety of our law enforcement officers.”
In a CNN interview, McLaughlin stated that "there will likely be more arrests" for the Democrats who stormed the ICE facility. She added that body camera footage shows members of Congress assaulting ICE officers, including an incident where a female ICE officer was body-slammed.