Rep.-elect Ocasio-Cortez hits back at Sen. Graham's recommendation for history lesson
Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Lindsey Graham quarreled Monday about migrants at the border via Twitter.
The Democratic freshman who has been a strong advocate for immigrants tweeted on Sunday: “Asking to be considered a refugee & applying for status isn’t a crime. It wasn’t for Jewish families fleeing Germany. It wasn’t for targeted families fleeing Rwanda. It wasn’t for communities fleeing war-torn Syria. And it isn’t for those fleeing violence in Central America.”
Along with her comment, Ocasio-Cortez attached a Twitter post by NBC News that shows a photo of a woman and children running away from tear gas at the U.S.-Mexico border.
After a group of migrants attempted to illegally enter the country on Sunday at the port of entry at San Ysidro, south of San Diego and north of Tijuana, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol fired tear gas and prompted President Donald Trump to call for a "permanent close" of the border "if need be."
The border was reopened the same day, according to a statement by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
Graham, who has advocated for the White House’s proposed immigration framework in the past, replied to her tweet, “I recommend she take a tour of the Holocaust Museum in DC. Might help her better understand the differences between the Holocaust and the caravan in Tijuana.”
He then followed his earlier response with a series of 10 additional “thoughts” on the issue.
“Americans want an immigration policy which we control, not one where illegal immigrants control us,” the Republican senator said. “We are a nation of immigrants. We are also a kind and generous people. But Americans will not be played for fools.”
While Graham was stumping with the president in Mississippi for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Monday evening, Ocasio-Cortez responded to Graham's initial suggestion.
".@LindseyGrahamSC, the point of such a treasured museum is to bring its lessons to present day," she wrote. "This administration has jailed children and violated human rights. Perhaps we should stop pretending that authoritarianism + violence is a historical event instead of a growing force."
