Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi for answers on whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating her for providing guidance to undocumented immigrants on handling encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
In a letter to Bondi sent Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez sought “clarity” on whether the DOJ has “yielded to political pressure and attempts to weaponize the agency against elected officials whose speech they disagree with.”
Her inquiry follows public scrutiny over a February webinar hosted by her office titled Know Your Rights with ICE.
The virtual event, which was streamed on her Facebook page but did not feature her directly, informed attendees that they were not required to open their doors to ICE agents unless presented with a judicial warrant. Members of her office also described ICE raids as “political tactics.”
The webinar drew criticism from former acting ICE Director Tom Homan, who called for the DOJ to examine whether Ocasio-Cortez’s actions were illegal.
“I’ve asked DOJ, where is that line of impediment, where is that line of interference?” Homan said.
Ocasio-Cortez pushed back in her letter, asserting that educating the public about their legal rights is a core duty of elected officials.
She cited remarks from Vice President JD Vance stating:
“We may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square.”
She argued that the DOJ should not be used to stifle political speech.
“A government that uses threats of DOJ investigations to suppress free speech is a threat to all, regardless of political ideology,” she wrote, adding that efforts to intimidate lawmakers through legal scrutiny were a “textbook threat” to the First Amendment.
Ocasio-Cortez is not the only Democrat facing heightened DOJ attention. U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Ed Martin has reportedly been scrutinizing statements made by other lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep.
Robert Garcia (D-CA). Martin recently asked Garcia to clarify remarks he made about Trump adviser Elon Musk, particularly a comment on CNN where he stated:
“What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight.”
Martin’s office suggested the statement could be interpreted as a threat.
Garcia, in response, posted the DOJ’s letter on X, formerly Twitter, vowing that he would “not be silenced” and that lawmakers must be able to “forcefully oppose the Trump administration.”
The Justice Department has not yet responded to inquiries regarding Ocasio-Cortez’s letter to Bondi or the broader scrutiny of Democratic lawmakers.
