A former federal prosecutor said over the weekend that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and others providing advice to illegal immigrants about how they can avoid being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is “skirting the line” legally, meaning she could find herself in legal hot water.
Jonathan Fahey’s remarks come after Trump administration border czar Tom Homan repeatedly warned ‘AOC’ last week that she could be violating federal law by hampering ICE agents from doing their jobs, adding that he is currently seeking a legal opinion from the Justice Department about what constitutes “impediment,” which could be a felony.
Fox News anchor Bryan Llenas asked Fahey during a segment on Friday if Homan “has a point.”
“He does have a point here, just sort of for the big picture here. You know, when you compare what he is doing, which is trying to get rid of most serious criminals that are also illegal aliens, and she is fighting tooth and nail to keep them in here,” Fahey began.
“But I think where she’s really skirting the line is on a couple of things. One, is this obstruction of justice? Are these webinars designed to truly educate people, or are they a ruse designed to keep illegal aliens in the country?” Fahey continued. “And part of her statements are quite interesting as she talks about illegal aliens as everyday Americans or something as if they have a right to be here.
“When she mocking Tom Homan, she is incorrect about the law when she says it is not a crime to be here illegally. Most of these people entered illegally and that is in fact a crime,” he confirmed. “The other thing that she is really skirting the line on and many of the sanctuary cities are as well as the federal harboring statute which if you are doing anything to conceal, shield, or harbor illegal aliens from being deported or encouraging illegal aliens or people you have reason to know are illegal aliens to reside in the country illegally, you could be in violation of that as well.
“Certainly getting very close to the line, I don’t know that she’s gotten over it. Many of these sanctuary cities not only are over the line but have been over the line for the last five years so that’s going to be their main incentive to cooperate,” he added. “Is DoJ going to look retrospectively at what they have been doing, or are they going to get on board and cooperate? I think most of them will cooperate.”
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His remarks come after the congresswoman hosted a webinar in English and Spanish in which Immigrant Defense Project attorney Genia Blaser said, “ICE raids are political tactics, and they’re often intended to create fear.”
“This is a time where there is a lot of fear. And in fear, it’s really important to have knowledge because knowledge is power,” Blaser went on to say, further telling viewers that ICE agents are “often very aggressive, and the encounters can happen really quickly.”
Ocasio-Cortez also has a flyer on her website instructing illegal immigrants about “their rights.”
“You do not have to open the door” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, it said.
It also tells them that ICE agents do not have the right to enter someone’s home if they do not have a valid warrant signed by a judge. “You can ask them to slip the warrant under the door,” the flyer said.
Her office is also providing free legal services to illegal immigrants to avoid being deported.
On Thursday, Homan spoke to Fox News host Laura Ingraham, where he suggested the representative could be criminally prosecuted for what she is doing.
“And I sent an email today to the Deputy Attorney General. At what level is that impediment? Is that impediment? I’m not an attorney, I’m not a prosecutor. Is that impediment? Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts?” the border czar said.
“If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? So I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out where is that line that they crossed. So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now, but I need the AOG to opine on that. Because impediment is impediment in my opinion. I’m not a prosecutor, but we need some further guidance on that. But again, if we have to take every federal dollar out of the city, we’ll do it,” added Homan.
