Ocasio-Cortez, along with other Democrats in the House of Representatives, toured border stations in El Paso and Clint, Texas on Monday, many of them posting thoughts about what they experienced on social media afterward.
The self-described Democratic socialist gave an interview to Yahoo News hours after the tour ended, where she referenced fascism.
“Are we headed to fascism? Yes. I don’t think there’s a question. If you actually take the time to study, and to look at the steps, and to see how government transforms under authoritarian regimes, and look at the political decisions and patterns of this president, the answer is yes,” she told Yahoo.
The New York congresswoman recounted some of her experience in Texas on Twitter Monday, sharing a photo taken by Rep. Joaquin Castro of several women in a holding cell and Ocasio-Cortez giving one of them a hug. In the tweet accompanying the photo, Ocasio-Cortez said that the woman told her that CBP agents had separated her from her children and she did not know where they were.
Ocasio-Cortez also detailed how women were being told to drink water from toilets, though CBP disputed the notion in a statement released hours after the congresswoman tweeted about it. California Rep. Judy Chu also mentioned CBP agents telling immigrants in custody to drink toilet water, and Castro explained via Twitter that the holding cell they visited only had one toilet and no running water for drinking or to wash hands.
“‘No one is drinking toilet water. They’re drinking potable water from the sink attached to the toilet. It’s what you would find in every municipal jail in the United States,” CBP said in its statement about the comments.
Ocasio-Cortez later tweeted to explain that the holding cell she visited had a sink that was not working.
