Throughout much of former President Donald Trump’s administration, progressive politicians like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and the rest of her so-called “Squad” became outspoken opponents of his immigration policy.
Now, some of the same critics are rehashing their complaints that kids are being kept “in cages” as President Joe Biden apparently reneges on his vow to end the practice of child detention.
Biden faces opposition from the left
Along with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and others, Ocasio-Cortez was frequently front and center in protesting Trump’s immigration and border policy agenda, even going so far as to compare immigration detention centers to concentration camps.
One such “camp” opened in Carrizo Springs, Texas, in 2019 amid an intensifying border crisis.
The detention center was the site of protests and several prominent Democrats toured other facilities across the U.S. to highlight the Trump administration’s alleged cruelty.
When Biden reopened the facility in Carrizo on Monday to house undocumented child migrants, it did not take long for members of the Squad to express their disappointment.
Omar accused the Biden administration of perpetuating injustices from past administrations.
“Challenging common assumptions”
“Multiple administrations have made the callous choice to lock up thousands of children seeking refuge in the United States of America,” she tweeted. “As long as we see people seeking a better life as ‘aliens’ instead of fellow human beings, our immigration system will continue to fail us.”
Ocasio-Cortez similarly sounded off in a tweet accusing the current administration of maintaining an “oppressive” immigration system.
Former President Barack Obama has also come under scrutiny from members of his own party over his administration’s role in initially opening the child-detainment facilities. Under mounting pressure, Biden even called the Obama record on the issue a “mistake,” promising to stop the practice.
Now that he is in the White House, however, Biden is clearly backtracking on that pledge amid a projected immigration surge along the nation’s southern border. For her part, Ocasio-Cortez echoed Omar, tweeting that Biden inherited a “carceral framework” from his predecessors.
“It’s no accident that challenging how we approach both these issues are considered ‘controversial’ stances,” she wrote. “They require reimagining our relationship to each other and challenging common assumptions we take for granted.”
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