Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the use of the word “surge” when describing illegal immigrants trying to enter the country during the current border crisis, Fox News reported.
Ocasio-Cortez posted Instagram stories Tuesday evening and said that using the term “surge” to describe the border crisis is “militaristic,” according to Fox News.
“They wanna say, ‘But what about the surge?’ Well, first of all, just gut check, stop. Anyone who’s using the term ‘surge’ around you consciously is trying to invoke a militaristic frame and that’s a problem because this is not a surge, these are children. These are not insurgents and we are not being invaded,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
.@AOC summing up the systemic problems in our immigration system in a minute and a half. pic.twitter.com/bFY20ne6Gb
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) March 31, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez also said, “a white supremacy idea and philosophy” is the basis for using the term “surge” to describe migrants entering the country illegally. (RELATED: Lindsey Graham On Border Crisis: ‘Where is AOC? Why Aren’t You At The Border?’)
She started her series of Instagram stories by asking if people were exhausted because they were “living in a late stage capitalist society enduring a pandemic with no guarantee of healthcare or housing.” She also argued the border crisis stemmed from a crisis of imperialism, climate change and trade.
Ocasio-Cortez has drawn criticism for not appearing to be as vocal about children being detained under President Joe Biden than the previous administration, according to the New York Post.