Victoria covered the fact that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has continued her crusade to vilify all Border Patrol agents, who she pretty much sees as pawns for President Donald J. Trump in order to, as she as often hints at, enforce violence and racism against non-white migrants. As Victoria noted Wednesday, "In an interview with New York Radio's David Remnick, the Democratic firebrand called the [Department of Homeland Security] an 'egregious mistake.' Ocasio-Cortez made the comment in reference to her previous calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." Eliminating the DHS would include eliminating the Border Patrol among other necessary agencies.
Now, to be clear, there have been troubling reports of racism, crass behavior, and other unacceptable conduct from Border Patrol agents. But, perhaps AOC should listen to current Presidential candidate and progressive Beto O'Rourke.
In 2017 Congressional House session, then-Congressman O'Rourke delivered his monologue against funding the wall, but that noted the threats of human smuggling, drug smuggling, and even potential terrorism at the border are very real. He then delivered an impassioned defense of Border Patrol agents who were dealing with an increasingly difficult situation due to unaccompanied migrant children and argued the wall money should be given to Border Patrol instead.
"We recently doubled the size of the border patrol, we're using the latest, greatest technology to remain as vigilant as possible, which we should. And it's also important to know the character and quality of the border patrol agents and customs and border protection officers who man the line, who are at our ports, and who have one of the most difficult, dangerous jobs that anyone has in the federal government," the Texas Congressman said. (emphasis added).
"The conditions in which they work, the situations which they must anticipate, the constant vigilance they must maintain, and the kind of threats that they have to be aware of, which include drug smuggling, which is critically important to stop," he continued.
Recommended
"Which include human smuggling, which we must deter and stop and which includes, even though there's never been a terrorist or terrorist act on the U.S.-Mexico border includes the possibility that sometime that might happen and those men and women are literally on the front line, protecting this community," he added.
"I'd like to see some of those $14 billion to $20 billion proposed for the construction of a wall put behind our border patrol agents to improve their salaries, their working conditions, the ability for them to do their job and to keep us safe," the congressman pleaded. "I'd like to hire more customs and border protection officers, the men and women in blue at our ports of entry who facilitate legitimate trade and travel at our ports of entry. They're the ones who help keep this economy humming while keeping us safe."
Flashforward two years later, and the Beto of 2017 on border security sounds more like a moderate Republican rather than a 2020 Democratic candidate for president. His previous remarks serve as a reminder of how far left the Democratic party has come in such a short time. Even Beto himself has shifted more radically. Recently he told a group of immigrants that the country was founded on white supremacy. Beto, who was once hailed as the future of the party by the media, has been replaced by leftists like AOC and Rep. Ilhan Omar who call to abolish Border Patrol. It seems all Democrats are shifting their rhetoric leftward, after not too long ago defending the men and women who keep America safe.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member