Ocasio-Cortez Says Border Agents Have Been ‘Sexually Threatening Towards Me’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez never met a camera she didn’t like. And she doesn’t bother spending any time in her district, helping her constituents, either.

So, of course, on Monday, AOC — seeing a chance to cash in politically with a crisis — headed to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, to view a housing center for foreigners who have tried to sneak into America or have claimed political asylum.

She wanted everyone to know, so she took to social media to make a slew of claims, none of them substantiated, including one against agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency.

“I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me. Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress,” she wrote Monday on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, Ocasio-Cortez cited a story by ProPublica headlined, “Inside the Secret Border Patrol Facebook Group Where Agents Joke About Migrant Deaths and Post Sexist Memes.”

“Members of a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, discussed throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility in Texas on Monday and posted a vulgar illustration depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant, according to screenshots of their postings,” the story said.

“There are 20,000 TOTAL Customs & Border Patrol agents in the US. 9,500 – almost HALF that number – are in a racist & sexually violent secret CBP Facebook group. They’re threatening violence on members of Congress. How do you think they’re treating caged children+families?” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.

But ProPublica didn’t say all 9,500 members were part of the CBP. “ProPublica contacted three spokespeople for CBP in regard to the Facebook group and provided the names of three agents who appear to have participated in the online chats. CBP hasn’t yet responded,” the publication wrote.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez seized on the number. “9,500 CBP officers sharing memes about dead migrants and discussing violence and sexual misconduct towards members of Congress. How on earth can CBP’s culture be trusted to care for refugees humanely? PS I have no plans to change my itinerary & will visit the CBP station today,” she wrote.

After her first stop, AOC tweeted again.

“Just left the 1st CBP facility. I see why CBP officers were being so physically &sexually threatening towards me. Officers were keeping women in cells w/ no water & had told them to drink out of the toilets. This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress,” she wrote.

“Now I’ve seen the inside of these facilities. It’s not just the kids. It’s everyone. People drinking out of toilets, officers laughing in front of members Congress. I brought it up to their superiors. They said “officers are under stress & act out sometimes.” No accountability.”

“After I forced myself into a cell w/ women&began speaking to them, one of them described their treatment at the hands of officers as “psychological warfare” – waking them at odd hours for no reason, calling them wh*res, etc. Tell me what about that is due to a ‘lack of funding?’ ”

“Now I’m on my way to Clint, where the Trump admin was denying children toothpaste and soap. This has been horrifying so far. It is hard to understate the enormity of the problem. We’re talking systemic cruelty w/ a dehumanizing culture that treats them like animals.”

She’s live-tweeting, so look for her to use the term “concentration camp” before the day is over.

 

Thanks for sharing!