Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims Trump lied about immigrants in Oval Office address
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined The Rachel Maddow Show following President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night. The purpose was to allow Trump to make his argument to the American people for the need for a border wall, and he cited violent crimes and drug trafficking as two of the main reasons. Ocasio-Cortez, who recently said there’s “no question” Trump is racist, once again did not mince words when speaking about the president.
“In the actual address, there was falsehood after falsehood, and we have to make sure we get the facts straight,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than native-born Americans.”
Trump had stressed the need to stop people from crossing the border illegally, saying, “Every day, Customs and Border Protection agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country.” Ocasio-Cortez responded by pointing out that many people in this country illegally came here legally —and not necessarily at the southern border.
“The majority of the reason that people are undocumented is visa overstay,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It’s not because people are crossing a border illegally. It is because of visa overstay which, mind you, he’s talking about legal immigration. He’s trying to restrict every kind of immigration there is in the United States.”
Ocasio-Cortez blamed Trump for the very problem he’s trying to fight, citing the separation of families at the border and his attempts to end the diversity visa lottery. “He’s fighting against almost every way people can actually legally enter this country, forcing them to become undocumented, and then he’s trying to attack their undocumented status. This is systematic. It is wrong and anti-American,” she said.
The Rachel Maddow Show airs weeknights at 9 on MSNBC.
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