Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was called out for prioritizing illegal migrants over her own constituents at a Green New Deal town hall in Queens on Thursday.
The congresswoman was touting the purported benefits of the climate change legislation when two attendees, including a Republican challenger for her seat in the U.S. House, began heckling her.
“My name is Jonathan David Rinaldi and I’m running for Congress against AOC. The Green New Deal is a scam,” one man shouted. “They’re giving the NYCHA apartments away, they’re giving illegal aliens $10,000 a day… I want you to debate me AOC, debate me.”
NYCHA refers to the New York City Housing Authority, which controls the city’s public housing projects. Rinaldi told Fox News that local politicians are prioritizing migrants over citizens for the apartments.
Video recorded by attendees shows the moment another man also stood up and started shouting “Secure the border now!”
“You haven’t said one word about violent Venezuelan migrants, illegals,” the second man yelled, as Ocasio-Cortez’s supporters attempted to drown the hecklers out with an “AOC” chant.
He went on to make references to the January attack on NYPD officers by a group of violent migrants who were released from jail without bail.
“You don’t care, all you care about is illegal aliens and their votes. You don’t care about your constituents,” the second man continued. “That’s all you care about. You’re a disgrace.”
Ocasio-Cortez smiled as security approached Rinaldi to kick him out of the venue.
“Every single one of us is being sold out by people that have brought illegals here to vote,” the congressional candidate shouted as he was being escorted away.
“You only represent the illegal aliens,” he said, addressing the congresswoman.
“Well, clearly I don’t, because I’m an elected member of Congress, so keep it pushing, bro,” Ocasio-Cortez replied.
After both hecklers were removed from the event, she went on to say that her base “clearly supports progressive immigration policies that welcomes all of our neighbors.”
We clearly support a path to citizenship, we clearly support ending draconian immigration policies and that is why you all … support my representation of our community in Congress because we have had enough.
We have seen the voices that are anti-immigrant in this country are very very loud but they are very very few and we have to look around and realize how many of us are here in support of our neighbors and an acknowledgment of the fact that virtually all of us are descendants of immigrants, or indigenous people, or enslaved people.
Outside of the event venue, Rinaldi continued his tirade about migrants and NYCHA.
“They just fired all the supers at NYCHA … so then the buildings go into disarray, so they can then come with Section Eight,” he claimed.