Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) faced a storm of displeasure from her constituents in a recent fiery town hall meeting. The discussion descended into chaos as one man proclaimed, “American citizens before migrants,” questioning Ocasio-Cortez’s stance on the issue of immigration.
This meeting occurred during an influx of approximately 70,000 undocumented immigrants into New York City since the spring of 2022, costing taxpayers $5 million per day to provide shelter. Ocasio-Cortez, along with fellow Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), has been urging President Joe Biden to abolish the 150-day work authorization waiting period for asylum seekers. “New Yorkers are ready to employ and asylum seekers are ready to work,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in defense of her position.
Watch as an angry constituent tells AOC, 'You’re a Piece of Sh*t!' at her town hall this weekend.
It doesn’t get any funnier than this!pic.twitter.com/wiFBiHLs1h
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) May 28, 2023
However, it seems her constituents don’t entirely share her view, as evident from signs like “America First. Vetted legal immigrants only,” held up during the meeting. The atmosphere further escalated when Ocasio-Cortez was called a “piece of sh*t.” Some constituents even pointed to her as an “obvious criminal.”
Another topic that sparked contention was the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. A woman asked, “We are on the verge of nuclear war with Russia, are you going to stop this war?” The anger stems from Ocasio-Cortez’s previous vote favoring the allocation of $40 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Another lady asked Ocasio-Cortez to “Stop funding this war,” voicing that the money could be better used to help needy communities like hers.
OOF … and OOF.
AOC tries pretending her town hall was NOT a total disaster of constituents attacking her and LOL (watch)https://t.co/SCDuuW6Jhp
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 28, 2023
In addition, the Congresswoman advocated for the abolition of the debt ceiling, which Congress must decide on by June 5. Despite the rowdy event, Ocasio-Cortez remained composed and later tweeted in a seemingly cheerful tone, “Thank you to everyone who came to our Memorial Day weekend town hall! We had such a great crowd. It was awesome answering all your questions, discussing the debt limit negotiations, and more. See you next month!” However, she did not mention the vehement criticisms she faced during the meeting.
Yet, the chaos during the town hall underlined a clear divide between Ocasio-Cortez and some of her constituents. Her seemingly progressive stance on immigration and the debt limit appears to have put her at odds with many New York voters.
