Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin didn’t hold back after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) issued a thinly veiled threat over the possible arrest of three New Jersey Democrats involved in last week’s ICE facility breach. In an Instagram video Saturday night, AOC warned that if the Trump administration “lay[s] a finger on them, we are going to have a problem.”
The warning came after video footage surfaced showing Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rob Menendez physically pushing into the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility, allegedly shoving federal agents in the process. Mayor Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing. Now, investigations are underway, and the remaining Democrats could face legal consequences.
But AOC insists the lawbreakers are the ones enforcing immigration law, not the members of Congress who stormed a secure federal facility.
“If anyone’s breaking the law in this situation, it’s not members of Congress, it’s the Department of Homeland Security,” AOC said, targeting Secretary Kristi Noem and former ICE director Tom Homan.
On Tuesday, DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin responded in epic fashion on Fox News.
“I’d like to ask AOC, who does she want out of that detention facility? Is it the MS-13 members? Is it the known terrorists? Is it the child rapists? Is it the murderers? Who is she fighting for?” McLaughlin asked. “Because she’s not fighting for Americans. She’s not fighting for American victims.”
McLaughlin continued, “It was these three members of Congress who trespassed, broke the law, and stormed that ICE detention facility. They put law enforcement at risk. They put detainees at risk. They put staff at risk. It was assault on our ICE agents — and it’s unacceptable.”
The Department of Homeland Security also released a detailed post on social media clarifying that the lawmakers never requested an official tour, as required by protocol. Had they done so, one would have been arranged. Instead, they attempted a political stunt, and now they’re facing legal consequences for it.
McLaughlin’s response hits a critical point: if Democrats like AOC are defending violent criminals detained at ICE facilities simply because the Trump administration is enforcing immigration law, it proves their priorities are deeply out of step with the American people.
And this isn’t the first time. AOC and her allies have a pattern of elevating illegal aliens and criminals over the safety of law enforcement and American citizens. In this case, their stunt endangered everyone inside a secure facility and undermined the rule of law.
Democrats claim their behavior was “oversight.” But as DHS and investigators made clear, this was no official visit — it was a riot.
If Democrats plan to make this kind of behavior a campaign issue in 2026, they may want to revisit how that worked out for them in 2024. Voters have already made it clear: they want secure borders and law and order — not congressional tantrums on federal property.
DHS is now investigating the incident, and arrests for other participants remain “on the table.” Meanwhile, the Biden-appointed officials who previously protected these kinds of stunts are gone — and under Trump, the rules are being enforced.
If Democrats like AOC want to turn criminals into martyrs, they’d better be prepared for another rude awakening in the next election.
