By Molly Goddard
11:07am PST, Feb 14, 2025
While the politician herself was not present at the information session, she took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a "Know Your Rights" guide for vulnerable people the following day.
In one of the tips listed, they told non-citizens "Do Not Open Your Door" for any agents from the government entity. "ICE cannot enter your home without a
warrant signed by a judge," the message read.
"ICE
raids are political tactics and they're often intended to create fear," an attorney with the Immigrant Defense Project
Genia Blaser explained during the virtual meeting.
"We see how ICE often uses rhetoric to criminalize immigrants, to normalize their tactics and justify what they're doing," the expert continued.
Blaser explained how the agents — who are sometimes in unmarked vehicles — typically approach people "early in the morning" and in "public places."
A representative from the Immigrant
Defense Project named
Laura told viewers she'd allegedly seen multiple scenarios in New York where the officials did not obtain warrants from a judge before arriving at the residence.
"But they often use ruses or intimidation to try to trick people into doing or saying things that they can interpret as consent to enter [a private space]," she explained.
Alongside the guide Ocasio-Cortez shared, she left a poignant message which read, "Believe it or not, in
America EVERYONE has rights."
"Citizen or not, we all should know our rights to protect ourselves and others from illegal search and seizure," she continued.
"If you're p—– that I'm educating the people of this country of their Constitutional rights, that's on you. And yes, immigrants have rights too. This is the LAND of the free."
