Ocasio-Cortez, 34 Other House Dems Push Against Deportation of Illegal Immigrant Gang Members

Amid what New York Rep. 👤Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a coterie of her fellow Democrats describe as “a racial reckoning in our country,” federal officials are being told not to make deporting illegal immigrant gang members a priority.

In February, temporary guidance issued for Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel called for reduced deportations, with a few exceptions. One category was “public safety,” which said illegal immigrants could be considered a priority for deportation if they committed an aggravated felony or were members of a gang.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and ICE acting Director Tae Johnson, Ocasio-Cortez and 34 co-signers claim the U.S. legal system is so riddled with discrimination that there is no way criminal illegal immigrants will get a fair shake.

The ICE rule targeting gang members “invites racial profiling by presuming that an immigrant is a public safety enforcement and removal priority,” the Democrats’ letter said.

The letter said ICE has no business deciding whether participation in a gang was connected with an illegal immigrant’s criminal activity.

The rationale is based on race.

“It is well documented that law enforcement’s practices of labelling people as ‘gang-involved’ is often faulty, based on arbitrary and racist factors, and not subject to due process,” the letter said.