Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blamed the migrant crisis on climate change Tuesday night, just hours after suggesting that the US would “have blood on our hands” if climate legislation — like her Green New Deal — doesn’t get passed.
“The far-right loves to drum up fear & resistance to immigrants,” tweeted the freshman congresswoman. “But have you ever noticed they never talk about what‘s causing people to flee their homes in the first place? Perhaps that’s bc they’d be forced to confront 1 major factor fueling global migration: Climate change.”
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) had been campaigning for her Green New Deal on Capitol Hill earlier in the day Tuesday and pushing for ways to combat climate change.
“I think what we have laid out here is a very clear moral problem,” she told House Oversight Committee members. “If we fail to act or if we delay in acting, we will have blood on our hands.”
Republicans have blasted Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal for being a “socialist” scheme that would likely cost way too much money. The New York lawmaker called out her critics during Tuesday’s congressional hearing.
“While I am incredibly flattered that the ranking member and many members across the aisle seem to be so enamored with a non-binding resolution presented by a freshman congresswoman sworn in three months ago, I think that ironically — despite that fixation — it doesn’t seem that they’ve actually read the contents of the proposed and presented resolution,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We don’t need Cliff Notes for a 14-page resolution that was designed to be read in plain English by the American people.”