AOC explains the systemic failures that led to the US border 'crisis': 'It's an imperialism crisis'

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Instagram earlier this week to answer questions from her followers. When one user asked why she had apparently stopped discussing the border "crisis" between the United States and Mexico, the Squad member decided to break down the systemic failures that lead to such imagined crises in the first place. Touching upon the USA's carceral system and the country's interventions across the world, Ocasio-Cortez deemed the mythical border crisis an "imperialism crisis" instead. Her response has gone viral, with many thanking the Representative for her explanation, and others asking her to think of "America First."

The question she received read, "Why are you not addressing the border crisis and the kids locked up in cages like you used to?" To this, the Democrat responded, "Are you for real? So let's talk about this because so much of our national 'conversation'—which is not a conversation—about immigration is driven by people who could not care less about immigrants." She questioned why certain people ask her why she discusses the border crisis from an intersectional perspective, rather than a one-dimensional lens. "It's not a border crisis," Ocasio-Cortez affirmed. "It's an imperialism crisis. It's a climate crisis. It's a trade crisis. And also, it's a carceral crisis."

"As I have already said, even during this term and this President, our immigration system is based and designed on our carceral system," she explained. "So those are some of the problems, what are some of the solutions?" The Congresswoman suggested that any solution that effectively tackles the humanitarian crisis at the USA-Mexico border should be rooted in foreign policy. This, she continued, was because of the USA's interventionist history in foreign policy; the North American superpower has over decades of experience in destabilizing several regions and progressive political factions across the globe.

Moving on, Ocasio-Cortez touched upon the disproportionate impact that the USA has on the climate. She stated, "Let's talk about the climate crisis because the US has disproportionately contributed to the total amount of emissions, [which] is causing a planetary climate crisis right now. But who is bearing the brunt of that?" Climate scientists agree that the Global South stands to lose far more than their Northern counterparts, as the Representative affirmed. "It's actually not us," she said. "We help create the problem but disproportionately it's the Global South. It's South Asia, It's Latin America, that are [going to] be experiencing the floods, wildfires, and droughts. This, ding ding ding, has already started a migration crisis."

NowThis shared her videos on Facebook, where numerous users commented on Ocasio-Cortez's nuanced take. One user wrote, "[The] truth is too hard because it's too complicated for some people; and when their silly simplistic assumptions and hatred are called out with facts and sound reasoning, rather than have productive conversations, they just double down on the hatred and meanness." Others, however, called her a "communist" with a "corrupt agenda." The Congresswoman is currently working on a $3.5 trillion spending package. She is also canvassing for Nina Turner, a firebrand candidate in Ohio's upcoming special Democratic primary.