Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasted the Trump administration on issues ranging from free speech, DOGE spending cuts and immigration at a Friday night town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens. At one point, the four-term congresswoman called out border czar Tom Homan by name, challenging him to “come for me.”
After speaking at a May Day protest in New York City on Thursday, rejecting Trump’s agenda and warning protesters that Republicans “are going after Medicaid next,” Ocasio-Cortez continued that message in New York’s 14th Congressional District Friday night.
After a May Day protest in New York City where she warned Republicans were “going after Medicaid next,” Ocasio-Cortez’s constituent town hall kept a decidedly progressive bent but ranged in focus from local to national concerns. Even so, President Donald Trump and his aggressive border security push remained a key focus.
In particular, Ocasio-Cortez attacked the Trump administration’s approach to border security and immigration, referring to its deportation of Venezuelan gang members as “sanctioned kidnappings.”
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“I don’t even want to call them deportations. They are sanctioned kidnappings in many circumstances,” the congresswoman told attendees. “They do not have carte blanche to enter. If they do want to knock on your door, or knock on anyone’s door — including your workplace — you can tell them, ‘Show me a warrant. Show me a judicial warrant.’ And if they don’t show you a warrant, you can say they can come back with a warrant. You have the right to turn them away.”
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has said Ocasio-Cortez should be investigated for providing tips on how to evade federal immigration authorities. On Friday, after the congresswoman did so again, she mentioned Homan.
“When we first did one of these seminars, Tom Homan, then-acting director of ICE, said that he was going to threaten to refer me to the DOJ because I’m using my free speech rights in order to advise people of their constitutionally guaranteed protections,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And he may want to do it again today, and to that I say, come for me.”
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Ocasio-Cortez also slammed the Trump administration for “attacks on free speech” and cuts to government spending on programs the congresswoman considers “essential.”
“Anything that has to do with the environment is bad and should be cut, and I don’t even think they understood the extent to which this is compromising and hurting people,” Ocasio-Cortez told attendees. “They don’t believe climate change is real.”
The event was mostly uneventful except for an early disruption by a protester who began shouting at Ocasio-Cortez about the “genocide” in Gaza.
“I am a healthcare worker and I want to know what you’re doing about the genocide in Gaza,” the protester started shouting at the congresswoman.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” the audience began shouting at the disruptor. Audible “boos” could be heard as well.
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Ocasio-Cortez attempted to appease the disruptor, but nothing she could say calmed the person down. Staff at the event allowed the disruptor to continue yelling until she approached Ocasio-Cortez, and they eventually led her out.
“Shame on you. You’re a liar. You’re a liar,” the woman screamed as others began to boo at her. “
Shame on you, I used to support you,” the woman shouted as she exited. “You’re a war criminal! War criminal! War criminal!”
Despite the protester’s unfavorable opinion of Ocasio-Cortez, others have been hopeful about her potential candidacy for the presidency in 2028. Speculation about her potential run has been swirling during the congresswoman’s frequent Fighting Oligarchy rallies with Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats.
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Sanders held a rally Friday night in Pennsylvania, during which attendees snapped photos of “AOC 2028” merchandise sold outside the event.
As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, the congresswoman raked in $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the money came from 266,000 individual donors with an average contribution of $21.
“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.
