Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is using her social media bully pulpit once again to intimidate Trump officials.
This time she’s threatening a border czar who’s trying to enforce the law.
And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just raised the stakes with this shocking threat against Tom Homan.
Ocasio-Cortez issues warning to Trump officials
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t like the Biden-Harris open border policies coming to an end.
The New York lawmaker took to Instagram to issue a stern warning to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Tom Homan, who are managing the current immigration crackdown.
“You lay a finger on someone, on Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman… or any of the representatives that were there, you lay a finger on them, we are going to have a problem,” Ocasio-Cortez declared in a video message aimed directly at Trump officials.
The threat comes after three Democratic lawmakers – Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), and LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) – participated in a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark, New Jersey.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN on Saturday that these lawmakers could face arrest, suggesting that some may have assaulted federal agents during the demonstration.
“If anyone’s breaking the law in this situation, it’s not members of Congress, it’s the Department of Homeland Security,” Ocasio-Cortez claimed. “It’s people like Tom Homan and Secretary Kristi Noem.”
However, bodycam footage showed Congresswoman McIver seemingly assaulting immigration enforcement agents.
🚨BREAKING: I have obtained exclusive ICE officer body cam footage clearly showing Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver verbally and physically assaulting federal agents in New Jersey after illegally entering an ICE detention facility.
In the video you can see indisputable evidence of… pic.twitter.com/msAQBz23oJ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 10, 2025
Lawmakers claim oversight rights while mayor gets arrested
The Democrat lawmakers insist they had a legal right to be at the facility, with Menendez stating that members of Congress “have a legal right to conduct oversight at any DHS facility without prior notice.”
While McIver, Watson Coleman, and Menendez, did have a right to be there as an oversight function as members of Congress, obstructing and laying hands on immigration officials is another matter.
Menendez claimed that ICE officials attempted to “intimidate” them and “impede” their oversight responsibilities.
McIver went further, alleging “aggression” by ICE agents during the incident.
“From roughing up members of Congress to arresting the mayor of our state’s largest city, there is no version of today that does not show the blatant abuses of power of the Trump administration,” she said.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat, was arrested for trespassing during the protest.
Ocasio-Cortez claims DHS is using intimidation tactics
In her Instagram video, Ocasio-Cortez accused the Department of Homeland Security of employing “public intimidation” because “they cannot come for us all.”
Rep. AOC with a message to Border Czar Homan: “You lay a finger on any member of Congress, we’re going to have a problem.”
Could someone inform her that he wouldn’t be arresting them (no matter how funny it would be.) That’s left up to other LEOs.
They shouldn’t break the law. pic.twitter.com/q8BX27BQGY
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) May 13, 2025
This confrontation represents the latest escalation in tensions between Democratic lawmakers and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement practices.
The Biden-Harris administration had significantly scaled back interior enforcement and deportations, but President Trump has moved quickly to restore stricter policies, leading to demonstrations like the one in Newark.
Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most vocal critics of immigration enforcement since her first term in Congress, when she compared detention facilities to “concentration camps” during the first Trump administration.
Tom Homan, who previously served as Acting ICE Director during Trump’s first term and now serves as a key official in the administration’s border strategy, has been a frequent target of criticism from progressive Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez.
The clash highlights the sharp partisan divide over immigration policy that continues to define American politics as Trump begins his second term.
The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s warning, but the administration has made it clear that enforcing immigration laws is a top priority.
Secretary Noem has previously stated that the era of “catch and release” is over, indicating that the administration won’t back down from its enforcement efforts despite opposition from Democratic lawmakers.
As this situation develops, it remains to be seen whether the three Democratic lawmakers will face any legal consequences for their actions at the ICE facility. What’s certain is that the battle over immigration enforcement will continue to be a flashpoint in Washington.
