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- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ted Cruz went after eachother over immigration policy on Twitter on Thursday.
- The Texas Republican claimed the New York Democrat is pushing for a "full open borders" policy.
- Ocasio-Cortez in turn argued Cruz has no immigration policy, "just puff," and suggested Mexico should bar him from vacationing there in the future.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ted Cruz went after eachother over immigration policy on Twitter on Thursday.
The Texas Republican, who recently traveled to the US-Mexico border to highlight the recent rise in migrant crossings, claimed the New York Democrat is pushing for a "full open borders" policy. Ocasio-Cortez in turn attacked Cruz for recently escaping his home state during its power grid collapse to vacation in Cancún, Mexico with his family.
She suggested Mexico shouldn't let Cruz in next time he tries to vacation there, and again called on him to resign from office (a demand she first made after Cruz voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election).
"Ted, this is pretty rich coming from someone who fled their own home (and responsibilities) during an environmental crisis to cross the border and seek refuge in Mexico," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "Also you funded cages, expanded cages, and yet you're complaining about cages. You have no policy, just puff."
-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 1, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez argued that Republicans are hypocritically decrying the detention of migrant children on the border under President Joe Biden after they tolerated President Donald Trump's policy of separating migrant parents from their children, who were similarly detained.
The Biden administration is facing pressure from progressive Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez, to implement more liberal immigration changes. At the same time, Republicans are blaming the rise in migrants on Biden's reversal of some of Trump's harshest border policies.
The New York Democrat is a co-sponsor of the Roadmap to Freedom resolution, which calls for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including improving legal defense for migrants, abolishing for-profit detention facilities, prioritizing migrants who've survived violence and human trafficking, and providing immigrants with worker protections and government safety net benefits.
Border Patrol detention facilities have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by a steep rise in migrants, including thousands of unaccompanied children, crossing the border. Minors are supposed to be transfered out of these facilities and into shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services or released to caregivers in under 72 hours. But federal officials say that, due to overcrowding and pandemic restrictions, the average time children are spending in the tent camps has risen to 133 hours.