Though this moment occurred back in the fall of 2023, mid-September, we think it’s relevant to bring back up because 1) it’s very entertaining to watch, and 2) it shows the anger over illegal immigration that was building even in deep blue areas, which is helpful when explaining why Trump shifted so many areas to the right in the 2024 election, with illegal immigration playing a big role. In any case, that moment was when AOC tried giving a presser on immigration and was shouted down by angry protesters who wanted the illegal immigration crisis to end.
That incident occurred when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and a slew of additional Democrats appeared outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. The hotel had been turned into a migrant housing station, ostensibly for “asylum seekers.” The Democrats, including AOC, were there to defend the hotel being used for that purpose, and an angry crowd gathered to shout them down and express their anger at the situation.
In fact, the protesters at the event let loose with a flurry of anti-illegal immigration rhetoric that drowned out the various Democrats attempting to speak, including AOC. For example, the large, chanting crowd could be heard letting loose with often-heard slogans such as, “Send them back!” and “Close the border!”
At another point, a man in the crowd who had a megaphone with him was heard yelling, when AOC tried to argue about why, in her view, using the hotel to house “asylum seekers” was actually a good thing for the city and its inhabitants, “Close the border! Close the border! Respect the constitution, AOC! I am your constituent!”
AOC, for her part, tried to keep going, saying, “What we seek to do is to make sure that all the resources are necessary and that we are joining with the city and state.” The man with the megaphone kept shouting over her, however, saying, “Illegal immigration is not right! Respect the constitution, close the border!”
Trying to keep going despite the vociferous heckling and man with the megaphone, AOC said, blandly, “I think that there are three points of consensus here that are very important in getting a solution to that issue. The first is that there is consensus here across geographies and state on increased federal resources to cities and municipalities dealing with this issue.”
Continuing, she further angered the crowd by commenting on putting the migrants to work, saying, “The second is to allow for work authorizations so that folks in here can get to work and start supporting themselves as soon as possible. They are prevented from getting jobs. They are prevented from employment and that is part of the strain on our public systems. The faster that folks can access the work that they’re asking for, legally, the better we can solve this problem.”
Watch the wild incident here:
Also chiming in and attempting to speak was Rep. Adriano Espaillat, also a Democrat from New York. He said that the Democrats were there to “see for themselves what the migration dynamic is in our nation,” adding that they had so far seen “people that want to work, people that are fleeing violence, people that are fleeing environmental disasters.”
The crowd kept up the chanting as he tried to speak, shouting about illegal immigration and generally heckling him. Trying to keep going and defend the hotel’s usage, Rep. Espaillat said, “We see so many stories, heartbreaking stories manifest itself here. What I think, these are folks that will take New York City to a better place.”
He then, before admitting that “this is a contentious issue,” referring to the use of the hotel as a migrant shelter and the angry crowd’s disapproval, said “Every crisis presents great opportunity. There’s hope and opportunity in this building.” The angry crowd wasn’t having it, chanting another angry round of “close the border!” as he spoke.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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