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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Katie Hawkinson

AOC says Trump’s border czar should ‘learn to read’ after she becomes latest Democrat to be threatened by him

'Border czar' Tom Homan has asked the Department of Justice to look into whether New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'crossed a line' when she hosted a webinar explaining migrants' rights - (EPA)

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired back at President Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan after he suggested she would be in “trouble” for hosting a webinar explaining migrants’ rights in the U.S.

Ocasio-Cortez shared a clip of Homan’s remarks on Blue Sky Thursday, with a caption mocking his words.

“‘MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw,’” she mocked Homan’s threats in a post on X. “Maybe he can learn to read,” she added. “The Constitution would be a good place to start.”

Homan appeared on Fox News that same day, revealing that he’s working with the Justice Department to determine whether Ocasio-Cortez was “crossing the line” when she aired a "Know Your Rights with ICE" (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) webinar on Facebook Wednesday.

“I sent an email today to the deputy attorney general,” Homan told Fox News. “At what level is that impedement? Is that impedement? I'm not an attorney, I'm not a prosecutor. Is that impedement?”

“So I'm working with the Department of Justice and finding out where is that line that they cross, so maybe AOC won't be in trouble now but I need the AAG [assistant Attorney General] to opine on that, because impediment is impediment in my opinion,” he continued, implying that explaining American legal rights could somehow be construed as illegal.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a webinar explaining migrants’ rights this week (Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time Homan has threatened legal action against Democratic leaders. Homan threatened to prosecute New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy earlier this month after the Democrat suggested he may be housing a person with uncertain legal immigration status above his garage.

Homan also reportedly threatened the mayor of Chicago with prosecution before he even took office.

“If your Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside,” Homan reportedly told a local Republican club. “But if he impedes us – if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien – I will prosecute him.”

Ocasio-Cortez similarly fired back at Fox News media personality Sean Hannity for criticizing the webinar while sharing graphics that detailed migrants’ rights on X.

“Believe it or not, in America EVERYONE has rights,” she wrote. “Citizen or not, we all should know our rights to protect ourselves and others from illegal search & seizure.”

As Homan threatens lawmakers, his agency appears to be falling behind on the Trump administration’s promise to execute the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. ICE arrested some 21,000 people in November under former president Joe Biden, while the agency has only arrested some 14,000 people in Trump’s more than four weeks in office, Axios reports.

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