Hate to say it, but AOC is right about this one

[struggle4progress]

By Christine Flowers
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2025 at 10:13 AM EST

If you listen to some right-wing pundits, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is running a smuggling ring across the southern border ...

Far be it from me to defend La Cortez, but I find the misrepresentations from those who think there is a Constitution-free zone in this country, and that unless you have a green card or a U.S. passport, you live smack dab in the middle of it, to be annoying.

It evinces ignorance at best, and at its worst, a desire to simply pretend that due process is discretionary. It’s not.

It’s the backbone of our legal system and if you decide that it’s OK to deprive immigrants of those established rights, it’s a shortstep to denying other groups ...

I’m not about to criticize AOC for insisting on telling immigrants that they don’t have to let ICE agents into their homes without first presenting a signed warrant, that they don’t have to say anything without first consulting with an attorney, and they don’t need to give up and stop fighting removal simply because some overpaid, blow-dried cable news host says they have to ...

https://www.delcotimes.com/2025/02/22/flowers-hate-to-say-it-but-aoc-is-right-about-this-one/

[struggle4progress]

1. Even Fox News thinks border czar's prosecution threat against AOC is baseless

Justin Baragona
February 18, 2025 at 10:39 AM

Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley surprisingly pushed back on Trump border czar Tom Homan’s suggestion that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could face prosecution for hosting a webinar on immigrants’ legal rights, calling his threat “baseless” and “an assault on free speech rights” ...

https://www.aol.com/news/even-fox-news-thinks-trump-153933601.html

[Bluetus]

4. It is encouraging that Fox even thinks there are any rights

even abstract ones, because Trump, Musk and that whole corrupt cabinet all seem to thing every law can now be ignored.

Of course, having Fox acknowledge that we actually do rights and laws means nothing unless SCOTUS does the same. But at least it is something. There should be many lawsuits working their way up the ladder in the next several weeks, so we will soon learn whether SCOTUS recognizes rights and laws any more.

[struggle4progress]

2. He picked the wrong Latina

Jennifer Bowers Bahney
February 20, 2025 11:23AM ET

President Donald Trump's "border Czar" Tom Homan, who has been tasked with deporting millions of undocumented migrants from the United States, made an enemy out of "the wrong Latina" when he went after Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), argued MSNBC columnist Julio Ricardo Varela.

Homan has repeatedly made a point of threatening AOC with a Justice Department investigation for hosting a webinar to teach undocumented migrants how to respond if they're confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The webinar is titled, "Know Your Rights," but Homan has suggested its purpose is to "impede law enforcement" from doing its job.

Varela wrote, "In multiple media appearances, Homan insulted her intelligence, mocked her credentials and claimed she was undermining law enforcement. And he said he was 'working with the Department of Justice' to see whether the congresswoman was 'crossing the line.'”

AOC wrote on social media Monday, “This is why you fight these cowards. The moment you stand up to them, they crumble. Homan has nothing. The Fourth Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights. He can threaten me with jail & call names all he wants. He’s got nothing else" ...

https://www.rawstory.com/tom-homan-vs-aoc/

[Scrivener7]

3. Can't get into the article without paying. Is that a right-winger saying that?

[Bluetus]

5. I don't know.

It is a local newspaper from Delaware County PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. I have no idea who the writer is -- I presume a local columnist with the paper. That county went 61-37 for Harris, so I have no idea why the apologetic headline, other than the fact that much of the party establishment has tried to kneecap AOC.

This writer's abstract of the article begins with "Illegals in this country do have rights and it is OK to explain them ..."

The fact that the first word out of her mouth is "illegals" does suggest she is likely at least Trumpy, if not full MAGA.

[usonian]

6. USE THE ARCHIVE, LUKE 🛸

https://archive.is/NptB5

Archive.is, and various other archive.XX, archive.today sites have copies of paywalled articles.

Copy the article’s URL
GO to archive.is, archive.ph, archive.md and paste the URL into the entry box.

Most often, it’s saved.

[wyn borkins]

7. "Used It"

Yes, it did require a few microseconds for me to decrypt your 'magical-title'.

Thank you with my many appreciations.

[usonian]

8. The archive can help you today; the force? who knows?

Enjoy.

[struggle4progress]

9. Christine Flowers seems to be a conservative columnist and radio host

[somsai]

10. Actually the border itself is different.

In the U.S., constitutional rights apply differently depending on where you are and your status. If you're at the border—say, trying to enter at a checkpoint or airport—your rights are pretty limited. Border guards can search, question, and even detain you without the same level of protections you'd have inside the country. The Fourth Amendment (protection against unreasonable searches) and Fifth Amendment (right to remain silent, due process) don’t fully kick in until you’re admitted into the U.S. This is because the Supreme Court has consistently held that the border is a special zone where the government has broad authority to protect national sovereignty—think cases like United States v. Ramsey (1977).
Once you’re physically inside the U.S., even if you entered illegally, some constitutional rights start to apply. For example, the Supreme Court ruled in Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) and Wong Wing v. United States (1896) that non-citizens on U.S. soil get basic due process and equal protection under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. If you’re detained or arrested inside the country, you’d have rights like access to a lawyer or a hearing, regardless of immigration status. But there’s a catch: immigration proceedings are civil, not criminal, so you don’t get the full suite of criminal protections like a jury trial.
For citizens, full constitutional rights apply the moment you’re on U.S. soil, though the border zone (within 100 miles of any border) still gives agents extra leeway for stops and searches. It’s a sliding scale—location, status, and context all matter.