The gloves are off.
Former ICE Director and current Trump administration border czar Tom Homan delivered a fiery rebuke to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) this week, accusing her of aiding lawbreakers and warning that she may soon be on the wrong side of the law herself.
At the center of the clash is a recent “Know Your Rights” webinar hosted by Ocasio-Cortez’s office, where her staff provided undocumented immigrants in her district with guidance on interacting with ICE. That included telling people to ask for warrants and offering tips on how to identify and potentially resist deportation actions.
AOC called it free speech. Homan is calling it obstruction.
“She’s educating the worst of the worst on how to evade law enforcement,” Homan told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. “But the tables have now turned. She’s educating people how to get prosecuted.”
Citing Title 8, U.S. Code § 1253, Homan reminded the public — and AOC — that it is a federal crime to ignore a final deportation order or to actively hinder its enforcement. And he wasn’t speaking in hypotheticals.
“I would like AOC to read Title 8, United States Code 1253 because it’s starting tomorrow,” Homan warned, implying that federal charges could be imminent for anyone interfering with ICE’s actions.
At a town hall in Queens, AOC responded to Homan with her usual flair, telling the crowd:
“Tom Homan said he was going to refer me to DOJ… To that I say: Come for me. Do I look like I care?”
Ocasio-Cortez insisted her office was simply informing constituents of their constitutional rights and that “there is nothing illegal about it.” She then added that if anyone wanted to criminalize her actions, “they can come take me.”
But Homan made it clear: this isn’t about political theater anymore.
“Game’s over,” he declared. “We’re going to flood the zone with officers… We’re taking these public safety threats off the streets with your help or without your help.”
Homan also emphasized that sanctuary cities will be ground zero for this new phase of enforcement. ICE agents will triple their workforce in areas like New York City and pursue illegal immigrants with final orders of removal aggressively — whether in jails, in communities, or even at work sites.
GOP Senator James Lankford says illegal immigrants deserve some Due Process: “There is a need to be able to give an opportunity for someone to be able to make an argument before they are removed from the country.” pic.twitter.com/il2kgpalrV
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 7, 2025
