posted 07-02-2019 10:53 AM                  

Latino pastors cast doubt on AOC’s claims, say tour found migrant centers clean, well-run

Hispanic pastors tour border facility lambasted by AOC and say they are ‘shocked by misinformation’

By Caleb Parke | Fox News

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez was "full of indignation" when he saw the reports and heard from politicians about the deplorable and inhumane conditions for illegal immigrants at an El Paso County, Texas migrant detention center. But what he saw at the same facility toured by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. with a group of pastors was "drastically different."

The president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the world's largest Hispanic Christian organization, and senior pastor of New Seasons Christian Worship Center in Sacramento shared his firsthand experience touring a migrant detention center during a press briefing Monday.

“I read the reports, saw the news clips. I just wanted to see what was actually happening in order to better enable our efforts to find a fair and a just solution to our broken immigration system," Rodriguez, who has advised President Trump and both Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush on immigration reform, noted. “To my surprise, I saw something drastically different from the stories I’ve been hearing in our national discourse. Even as a veteran of immigration advocacy in the U.S., I was shocked at the misinformation of the crisis at the border."

The group of pastors saw a very different picture described by Ocasio-Cortez and other politicians and media outlets.

“We found no soiled diapers, no deplorable conditions and no lack of basic necessities,” Rodriguez remarked, adding he specifically asked border agents if they staged the facility in response to the negative press. “They unequivocally denied it — we were witnessing the identical conditions the attorneys saw when they toured the facility days earlier."

In fact, some told him the sources from whom the negative coverage originated “never toured the areas of the facility that we toured” and speculated they might have had political motivations.

The pastors left encouraged by the commitment and dedication of America’s Border Patrol and immigration officers, “many of which are Latinos, by the way.” He said one emotional Border Patrol agent turned to him and said,
referring to the vilification: “Pastor Sam, what they’re saying about us is completely false. We care about these kids and have a passion for our calling.”
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, with an accompanying delegation of pastors at the Clint Patrol Station this weekend in El Paso County, Texas.

Pastor Carlos Moran, NHCLC board member and immigrant, said, “we, as evangelical leaders that serve in different segments, are very committed to helping children regardless of their status and we commend those officers that are trying their very best to serve and fulfill their duty at the border. However, we do call on our political leaders to set aside their personal agendas and begin focusing on resolving this immigration crisis.”

Rodriguez points blame for that broken immigration system at consecutive White House administrations and especially both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress and implored each to “address the system they created.”

posted 07-02-2019 10:57 AM                  

By Nicole Darrah | Fox News

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., allegedly screamed at Customs and Border Protection agents "in a threatening manner" during a recent visit to a southern border facility in Texas, according to a report — after she made the explosive claim that women being held at at least one facility are being forced to drink "out of toilets."

The New York Democrat allegedly became angry with federal agents on Monday in El Paso during a trip to the area with roughly a dozen members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Washington Examiner reported, citing two witnesses at the location.

“She comes out screaming at our agents, right at the beginning [of the tour] ... Crying and screaming and yelling," one witness said. “The agents, they wanted to respond, but they held back because she’s a congressional delegate. But when you have someone yelling at you in a threatening manner … They were like, ‘Hey, you need to kinda step back.’”

Ocasio-Cortez, seemingly in response to the report, tweeted: "To these CBP officers saying they felt ‘threatened’ by me – They were literally discussing making a GoFundMe for an officer who attacked my on my tour."

She added: "They confiscated my phone, and they were all armed. I’m 5’4”. They’re just upset I exposed their inhumane behavior."

The Examiner report claims Ocasio-Cortez refused to tour the facility, as well, choosing to stay with a family in a holding area instead. The freshman rep previously tweeted about her visit to border facilities, writing that people of all ages were being mistreated and were "drinking out of toilets" as the guards laughed at the migrants' plight right in front of her.

Brian Hastings, deputy chief of Border Patrol, denied Ocasio-Cortez's allegations during an interview on "The Story." He unequivocally stated fresh drinking water is provided to people in custody.

Earlier Monday, the congresswoman accused CBP of having a “violent culture” after a report from ProPublica surfaced about a secret Facebook group where Border Patrol agents allegedly posted graphic and vulgar jokes about the Democratic lawmaker as well as illegal immigrants.

Some of the posts were graphic, doctored images of Ocasio-Cortez, including one that shows a smiling President Trump forcing her head toward his crotch. Other comments refer to Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, as "hoes," and one member encouraged agents to throw a "burrito at these b------."

Ocasio-Cortez said she wasn't surprised by the posts, especially after the treatment of migrants she said she witnessed at the facility. "It's just indicative of the violent culture that we saw," she said.

The purported posts were slammed by the head of Border Patrol on Monday as "completely inappropriate."

"These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see — and expect — from our agents day in and day out," Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost said. "Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable."