Ted Cruz blasts AOC at border: ‘Why is she not still here with her head in her hands?’
Kaelan Deese
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BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Thursday evening ahead of the end of the Title 42 immigration policy during a press conference at the southern border in Brownsville, asking, “Why is she not still here with her head in her hands?”
Cruz, along with GOP Sens. Roger Marshall (KS), Ted Budd (NC), and John Hoeven (ND), took a tour of Camp Monument, a Border Patrol command post where 10,000 immigrants have poured into the United States ahead of the end of the pandemic-era health policy that has allowed the quick expulsion of immigrants since early 2020.
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What’s happening here is an “invasion” and a humanitarian crisis, Cruz said, criticizing Ocasio-Cortez for not appearing at the border this week to see the thousands of immigrants crossing into the country.
“She still owns the white pantsuit! Why is she not still here with her head in her hands?” he said.
Cruz was referring to a 2018 photo of the New York representative in which she appeared distressed and upset. In 2019 she addressed the previously unreleased photos, making a lamenting social media post about “becoming a nation that steals refugee children from their parents, & caged them” during the Trump administration.
Cruz also slammed the administration for encouraging immigrants to apply to enter the country using a U.S. Customs and Border Protection application known as CBP One, which allows immigrants to enter the country if they go through the proper steps to make a credible threat claim.
“This is the Amazon version of illegal immigration. They’re going to make it fast and deliver them anywhere in the country,” Cruz said.
The Texas senator accused the administration of facilitating human trafficking by allowing easy access into the country: “We’re witnessing modern-day slavery.”
During a question period, Cruz also sparred with a journalist who asked what he and other Republicans have done to alleviate the crisis at the border.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!” Cruz shouted at the reporter, saying the number of crossings during 2019 and 2020 was far fewer than the record number of crossings under the Biden administration.
Marshall opened up the press conference by acknowledging the “humanitarian crisis” the nation is facing at the southern border and commended the community of Brownsville for assisting with taking care of the immigrants.
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“But I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Marshall said, referring to what many GOP lawmakers expect as a surge of immigrants despite the Biden administration’s transition into Title 8, which imposes stricter policies and potential criminal felony charges for repeated illegal crossings.
Title 42 is slated to expire at 11:59 Thursday EDT. The policy to date has aided in the swift expulsion of 2.8 million immigrants since it took effect three years ago, including repeat crossings.