Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar on Tuesday slammed President Biden for reopening a Texas facility to hold migrant teens.
The facility in Carrizo Springs reopened Monday in order to hold up to 700 teenagers, ages 13 to 17, after it was shut down by the Trump administration having only been open a month in summer 2019. The Biden administration has defended reopening the facility as an emergency measure needed to comply with COVID-19 protocols.
The move sparked an outcry by conservatives and progressive Democrats who pointed out that Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris previously lambasted the Trump administration’s treatment of migrant children at the southern border.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who routinely called the Trump administration’s migrant detention facilities “concentration camps” in 2019, condemned the current administration’s decision to reopen the facility.
“This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay — no matter the administration or party,” the New York congresswoman wrote. “Our immigration system is built on a carceral framework. It’s no accident that challenging how we approach both these issues are considered ’controversial’ stances. They require reimagining our relationship to each other and challenging common assumptions we take for granted.”
“It’s only 2 mos into this admin & our fraught, unjust immigration system will not transform in that time,” she continued. “That’s why bold reimagination is so impt. DHS shouldn’t exist, agencies should be reorganized, ICE gotta go, ban for-profit detention, create climate refugee status & more.”
Ms. Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who repeatedly accused the Trump administration of locking children in “cages” at the border, called the Biden administration’s choice to reopen the facility “callous.”
“Multiple administrations have made the callous choice to lock up thousands of children seeking refuge in the United States of America,” she tweeted. “As long as we see people seeking a better life as ’aliens’ instead of fellow human beings, our immigration system will continue to fail us.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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