AOC Calls for Biden to End ‘Cruel and Inhumane’ Border Wall Construction
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called on President Biden to reverse course on border wall construction on Friday, October 6, 2023. In a statement, Ocasio-Cortez said that the border wall is a “cruel and inhumane” policy that “does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States.”
Ocasio-Cortez released a statement Thursday evening urging Biden to “take responsibility for this decision and reverse course.”
“A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States. Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy,” the congresswoman said.
Ocasio-Cortez has recently faced criticism from her constituents as illegal immigrants have overwhelmed New York City in the past year.
“Close the border, close the border. Respect the constitution, AOC. I am your constituent,” one protestor shouted, according to the New York Post.
NYC has housed and fed more than 117,000 migrants on taxpayer dollars since last year, and the city is expected to spend up to $5 billion dealing with the migrant crisis. New York City Democrat Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly called for the Biden administration to take a stronger stand on border security and help his city handle the influx of illegal immigrants.
On the other hand, Ocasio-Cortez said the Biden administration should focus on the “root of migration more seriously” and “invest in meaningful immigration reform.”
The president made an attempt to answer for his apparent shift in border policy by saying he tried to move the money already appropriated for border wall construction but ultimately could not.
“I tried to get them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. They didn’t, they wouldn’t,” said Biden. “And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.”
Ocasio-Cortez also called on the Biden administration to “re-examine policy towards Latin America” and to stop contributing to the destabilization that drives migration. She said that the United States needs to “finally invest in meaningful immigration reform.”
Rep. @AOC (D-NY) addresses the migrant crisis in NYC as protesters outside a shelter for asylum-seekers shout “close the border!”:
“They are prevented from employment, and that is part of the strain on our public systems.” pic.twitter.com/eluAC4OHMT
— The Recount (@therecount) September 15, 2023
