Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York wanted to talk, but a crowd of protesters at a Friday event wanted her to listen.

Democratic members of Congress held a media event at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, which has been made into a shelter for illegal immigrants who have come to the city, according to the New York Post.

Although the purpose of the event was to allow politicians to talk about their plans to address the crisis, protesters had other ideas during the event, which was aired on live TV.

“Close the border! Close the border! Close the border!” the protesters shouted, according to the Washington Examiner.

“Send them back,” protester Jonathan Rinaldi, a Queens City Council candidate, shouted, per the Post. He later was pushed behind a barricade by a security guard.

“Close the border, close the border. Respect the Constitution, AOC. I am your constituent,” one man yelled through a megaphone.

Protesters carried signs that read “Americans first: Vetted & legal migrants only.”

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Ocasio-Cortez tried to get a word in but often was drowned out.

“Illegal immigration is not right! Respect the Constitution, close the border!” the man with the megaphone yelled after Ocasio-Cortez first tried to speak, according to Fox News.

“Ultimately, I think there are three points of consensus here that are very important in getting a solution to this issue,” she said.

“The first is that there is consensus here across geography and states on increasing federal resources to cities and municipalities dealing with this issue. The second is to allow for work authorizations so that the folks in here can get to work and start supporting themselves as soon as possible.

“They’re prevented from getting jobs, they’re prevented from employment, and that is part of the strain on our public systems,” she said, adding that temporary protective status for Venezuelans need to be extended.

With the crowd yelling, she finished with “and with that, we thank you all.”

Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels — a nonprofit group for unarmed crime prevention, later said that Ocasio-Cortez, who has jousted with residents at town meetings in the past, finally was seeing the rage of Americans up close, according to Fox News.

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“They’ve allowed an illegal invasion into our city, state, in our country. Politicians only give speeches. So you’re seeing the rage of people,” Sliwa said.

“And AOC – look at her face – ‘All Out Crazy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ – who encourages this invasion, who stopped Amazon from providing good-paying jobs to Americans – she’s talking about the need for illegals to work. She was stunned because in that crowd she saw moderate Democrats, not just Republicans and independents.”

Sliwa said there is a big difference between the generations of immigrants who legally came to New York City and the illegal immigrants flocking there now.

“We’re talking about all those first-generation immigrants who had to wait  in line … who are patiently abiding by the rules, many of whose family members are still back in their country of origin,” he said. “Can you imagine how they feel that all of these people that we don’t even know get to jump the queue? They haven’t been vaccinated, (and) no medical checks.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.