In a fiery and unapologetic appearance on Fox Business, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin didn’t mince words: if Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tries to “storm” an ICE facility like her fellow Democrats, she can expect to be handcuffed and hauled off just like anyone else who breaks the law.
This comes after a group of far-left Democrats, including Reps. LaMonica McIver, Rob Menendez, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, were arrested after trespassing and causing a scene at an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey. One lawmaker, Rep. McIver, was even caught on tape *physically assaulting* DHS and ICE agents.
Following the arrests, AOC went on an unhinged Instagram rant, warning that “there’s going to be a problem” if any of her colleagues faced legal consequences. She claimed members of Congress have a legal right to access ICE and CBP facilities, and bizarrely tried to conflate criminal behavior with “oversight.”
McLaughlin wasn’t buying it.
Speaking to Fox Business host David Asman on *The Bottom Line*, McLaughlin made it clear: “If she trespasses and if she assaults law enforcement officers, as we saw earlier, I think \[arrest is] certainly on the table.” She firmly dismissed the Democrats’ excuse that they were just conducting “Congressional oversight.”
“They didn’t ask us,” McLaughlin explained. “Had they requested a tour, David, we would have happily facilitated that for them. But that’s not what they did. Instead, they stormed the facility, putting our officers in danger.”
And that’s the key point: this isn’t about oversight. It’s about optics. Radical Democrats are using America’s law enforcement institutions as props for their political theater—and then crying foul when they’re treated like everyone else under the law.
There are *clear* protocols for members of Congress to tour ICE facilities, including a requirement to give 24 hours’ notice. The goal? Ensure the safety of everyone involved. But for Democrats looking to score points with their base, rules apparently don’t apply.
McLaughlin went even further on *Fox News Channel’s Special Report*, slamming AOC’s apparent defense of the criminals being held at the Newark ICE facility. “I’d like to ask AOC: who does she want out of that facility? Is it the MS-13 members? Is it the known terrorists? The child rapists? The murderers?”
It’s a good question—and one AOC would rather ignore. Instead of defending law enforcement and ensuring America’s borders are secure, she’s more interested in defending chaos and confrontation.
This is yet another example of the radical left’s two-tiered vision of justice: one for themselves, and one for the rest of us. But as McLaughlin made clear, the law doesn’t care about your social media following or your political slogans. If you break it—especially by assaulting officers—you’ll face the consequences.
And for once, it sounds like DHS is ready to draw a line in the sand.
