Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Trump's migrant detention centers 'concentration camps' and his administration 'fascist,' igniting a fierce debate online
Andrew Harnik/AP Images
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused President Donald Trump of running "concentration camps" to detain migrants and argued his administration is "authoritarian and fascist" on Monday.
- "'Never Again' means something ... the fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing," the lawmaker said during an Instagram Live discussion.
- Ocasio-Cortez's remarks ignited a fierce debate over whether it's ethical to invoke World War II concentration camps in criticizing the US's immigrant detention program.
- "'Never Again' is the phrase that Jews all over the world use to make sure that the extermination between 1939 and 1945 never happens again," Fox anchor Bill Hemmer said on Tuesday. "How in the world is that acceptable?"
- But some Jews and descendants of Holocaust survivors defended Ocasio-Cortez's argument, emphasizing the distinction between concentration camps used to intern and the death camps used to exterminate millions of Jews and others during the Holocaust.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doubled down on her argument that President Donald Trump is running "concentration camps" to detain migrants and that his administration is "authoritarian and fascist" on Tuesday.
"Never again means something ... the fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing," the lawmaker said during an Instagram Live discussion on Monday night, adding that the Trump presidency is "and fascist."
She went on, "I don't use those words lightly. I don't use those words to just throw bombs. I use that word because that is what an administration that creates concentration camps is."
Ocasio-Cortez referenced reports that the Trump administration will detain hundreds of migrant children at Oklahoma's Fort Sill military base, which was used to intern Japanese-Americans during World War II.
The Obama administration expanded the practice of immigrant family detention, and used Fort Sill to detain migrants during a surge in border crossings in 2014. Oklahoma Republicans were opposed to holding migrants at Fort Sill at the time.
"Fort Sill is not designed for this purpose, and turning the facility into a longer-term solution for housing these minors is extremely concerning," GOP Rep. Markwayne Mullin said in 2014.
"Never Again"?
Ocasi0-Cortez's remarks sparked significant criticism from many, including some pundits and Republican lawmakers, who argued it's wrong to compare the US government's immigrant detention to Nazi Germany's genocide.
"'Never Again' is the phrase that Jews all over the world use to make sure that the extermination between 1939 and 1945 never happens again, and she's using concentration camps to describe what's happening on the southern border," Fox anchor Bill Hemmer said on Tuesday. "How in the world is that acceptable? Does she not owe every Jew on this planet an apology?"
But Ocasio-Cortez stood by her comments on Tuesday, accusing "shrieking Republicans" of not knowing the difference between concentration camps used for internment and death camps used for genocide.
"Concentration camps are not the same as death camps. This is an important distinction. One of the biggest lessons from that dark history is that it didn't happen overnight. It emerged out of slow, increasingly concerning steps that acclimated the public to inhumane treatment," she wrote, linking to a recent Esquire piece that cites historians defining the migrant shelters as concentration camps, or facilities for "mass detention of civilians without trial."
REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File photo
The progressive congresswoman later exchanged barbs with Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who accused the New York Democrat of demeaning Holocaust victims.
"Please @AOC do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history. 6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust," Cheney wrote. "You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this."
Ocasio-Cortez shot back, "Hey Rep. Cheney, since you're so eager to 'educate me,' I'm curious: What do YOU call building mass camps of people being detained without a trial? How would you dress up DHS's mass separation of thousands children at the border from their parents?"
Cheney replied, "Happy to educate you," and recommended she read Holocaust survivor testimonies and the book "Night" by Elie Wiesel.
A fierce debate over Ocasio-Cortez's comments
A Twitter debate over the merits of Ocasio-Cortez's argument continued on Tuesday.
Some rejected her argument as disrespectful of Jews and a misreading of history.
".@AOC No no no. The detention centers were bad enough under Obama, and they have gotten monumentally worse under Trump. It's a stain on our soul," national security lawyer Bradley P. Moss wrote in a tweet he later deleted. "But these are not the concentration camps. These are not gas chambers. Don't disrespect Jews, Catholics and gypsies like that."
Others defended the US government's practice of detaining migrants, including children.
"Who knew that 'never again' means we shouldn't temporarily hold illegal migrants at the border before, by and large, releasing them into the country, often never to be seen again?" wrote Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review.
Meanwhile others, including some Jews and descendants of Holocaust survivors, defended Ocasio-Cortez's argument, emphasizing the distinction between concentration camps and the death camps used to exterminate millions of Jews and others during the Holocaust.
My grandpa's entire family was murdered in the Holocaust. I'm 100% comfortable with @AOC and anyone else referring to the current situation as concentration camps. The Holocaust didn't come out of nowhere-it was a slow build, like now. People who understand history know this. https://t.co/agIBjPMNLz
- marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) June 18, 2019
My father was in Bergen Belsen for 3 years. Not all were extermination camps like Auschwitz. Not all had ovens or gas chambers. Some were built to keep jews together and away from the general population, and people died from disease, abuse, etc. I am fine with this description. https://t.co/U6clv9QLUc
- Jon B. "Globalist" Wolfsthal (@JBWolfsthal) June 18, 2019
Ok, Internet. Time to learn the difference between concentration camps and death ("extermination") camps.
Germany started with concentration camps in 1933.
Death camps started in 1941.
Never again is now. https://t.co/W3rbM5asVc
- Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) June 14, 2019
- 6 reasons why you should visit Ladakh this summer
- TVS iQube gets a new variant priced under ₹1 lakh, ST variant gets a bigger battery
- As English players begin their premature IPL exodus, Gavaskar calls for action against England Cricket Board
- Top 10 destinations for river rafting in India in 2024
- Should you enrol your child in an online university like IGNOU?
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market