Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has reportedly been referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution after allegedly obstructing ICE agents enforcing President Trump’s immigration policies.
Earlier this week, border czar Tom Homan revealed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was being investigated by the DOJ for impeding immigration enforcement law.
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Ocasio-Cortez hosted a live webinar on Wednesday advising migrants in her congressional district about their rights if they come into contact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents looking to deport them.
“Impediment is impediment in my opinion,” Homan told Fox News, as he questioned whether her behavior was “crossing the line” into illegality.
Newsweek report: The “Know Your Rights With ICE” virtual event was streamed live on Ocasio-Cortez’s Facebook page, providing migrant viewers with information on handling ICE search requests if officers arrive at their homes or workplaces.
The 54-minute live stream was designed to inform migrants living in Ocasio-Cortez’s 14th District, which encompasses areas of Queens and the Bronx, of their rights.
“Believe it or not, in America EVERYONE has rights,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X on Thursday, sharing a guide on the legal rights that undocumented immigrants have.
Homan criticized the event and questioned whether it constituted obstruction of immigration enforcement. He claimed to have contacted the DOJ for clarification on whether Ocasio-Cortez’s actions could be considered unlawful interference.
“I sent an email to the Deputy AG today…at what level is that impediment,” Homan said.
“Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts. If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line, I’m working with the DOJ to find out. Maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now,” he added.
AOC fired back and told the nation’s top immigration official to read the U.S. Constitution.
“MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw” Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start,” she wrote on X.
The implications of alerting others to potential ICE activity depend on how the information is shared. According to Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University’s law school, free speech protections allow residents to discuss law enforcement in their neighborhoods. Language that actively encourages evasion of authority could be construed as obstruction of justice.
Gershman told Newsweek that saying: “I hear that the ICE agents may be coming around,” is generally protected, whereas posts suggesting that individuals hide or flee might increase the risk of legal consequences if the government views them as interfering with an active operation.
“I think it’s important to be very explicit on what is being communicated,” he said. “The words ‘tips’ or ‘warnings’ might readily be seen as an obstruction of justice and make the tipster subject to criminal liability. I suppose saying something more generally, like, ‘I hear that the ICE agents may be coming around our neighborhood soon,’ or something that doesn’t sound like a warning or a tip might be more defensible, even though the person speaking might mean it as a warning.
“In any case, there is the frightening possibility that people thinking they’re doing the right thing and the humanitarian thing in trying to protect friends and neighbors from getting arrested might themselves wind up in jail.”