Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) touted the approval of $14 million for projects in her New York district included in a funding bill she voted against and announced plans to coordinate “legal observer” trainings for wannabe anti-ICE activists at a Queens town hall Thursday.
“I did not vote for this. I voted no,” the “Squad” lawmaker said of the recently passed $1.2 trillion government spending bill, which funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for only the next two weeks.
“I think we need to shut them down now, right away,” Ocasio-Cortez said of the department handling President Trump’s sweeping illegal immigration crackdown.
Moments later, the lefty lawmaker celebrated that the legislation she voted against provided millions in funding for her constituents.
“Included in that bundling – even though I voted no – we were able to secure $14 million for different community funding projects here in New York’s 14th congressional district,“ she said.
A slide on a monitor behind Ocasio-Cortez then boasted, “Secured $14.2 million for The Bronx and Queens!”
The congresswoman later argued that controlling the disbursement of funds available to the Trump administration is the best way – and only way – Democrats can obstruct the president’s deportation agenda until after the midterm elections.
“This upcoming fight on DHS is it,” Ocasio-Cortez declared.
“This is the moment. We have to send that message … to both of our senators in New York state.”
“There is no other bite at the apple. This is it.”
The congresswoman later slammed the “escalation in ICE violence across the US” and urged New Yorkers to keep their “eyes peeled for any strange behavior” by federal law enforcement.
To that effect, Ocasio-Cortez announced plans to host “legal observer” trainings in coordination with an anti-ICE activist group.
“In the beginning of this most recent term, we did a lot of ‘know your rights’ education. That’s kind of like the 101,” the congresswoman told the audience.
She dubbed the next set of trainings “102” and said they would deal with legal observation of federal law enforcement.
“We have upcoming teach-ins with Hands Off NYC … we will be doing that jointly in our community,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.
“I definitely encourage folks to do that.”
She said the trainings are aimed at people who “want to be kind of a more active observer.”
Those who participate in the trainings will know “the things that you can do legally, to observe, to film, to take notes without being deemed as impeding law enforcement,” the progressive pol said.
Ocasio-Cortez’s “know your rights” webinars attracted the attention of border czar Tom Homan, who asked the Justice Department last year if teaching illegal immigrants how to avoid being arrested by ICE amounted to impeding law enforcement.
Roughly 80 of the congresswoman’s constituents – and about the same number of community vendors – packed into the auditorium for the town hall.
Several people told The Post they came to hear what the Democrat was planning to do about ICE.
“They [politicians] have to sound hopeful. … I don’t think there is much she can do,” one woman, who declined to give her name and was not satisfied by what she heard, said.
“I don’t know how much power Congress has to change anything,” the woman added.
Nuala O’Doherty-Naranjo, who runs the Jackson Heights Immigrant Center, was pleased by the lawmaker’s remarks.
“So this is the neighborhood,” O’Doherty-Naranjo told the Post, “where almost every family has an immigrant. So all of these ICE raids affects everyone in this neighborhood, and to sort of know that our congressperson is supporting us to make sure that our families are protected is really important, and so I’m glad to come tonight, and listen to her, and to know that she will stand up for us in Washington is really important.”
Wilson Sanchez, a 66-year-old retiree who used to work for Brooks Brothers, said, “Out of 100, I give her an 80.”
Sanchez had told the Post before the event that he felt “Trump is not doing a very good job,” but he was not so satisfied with Ocasio-Cortez either.
“She didn’t address the [Jeffrey] Epstein issue. There was no time for Epstein and that was really disappointing.”
