Bernie Sanders-Backed Socialist Latina Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Vows to Abolish ICE

Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Joe Crowley, handing the fourth-highest ranked Democrat a shock defeat Tuesday.

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The socialist’s platform includes a $15 minimum wage, assault weapons ban, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Medicare and higher education for all. Ocasio-Cortez will become the only current member of Congress who is a dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Ocasio-Cortez endorses the DREAM Act of 2017 and according to her campaign page ICE should be discontinued and a clear path to citizenship should be established. The declaration also stated that ICE's "founding was part of an unchecked expansion of executive powers that led to the widespread erosion of Americans’ civil rights. 

"Now we see the consequences: young children are being ripped from their parents and kept in detention centers without due process and without accountability to Congress," further explaining that to uphold civic justice, ICE must be abolished to promote "dignified and respectful" treatment of undocumented immigrants.

Ocasio-Cortez previously served as an organizer for Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and Justice Democrats, a left-leaning group formed by former Sanders staffers.

“Our district is overwhelmingly people of color, it’s working class, it’s very immigrant – and it hasn’t had the representation we’ve needed,” Ocasio-Cortez, a second-generation Puerto Rican, told HuffPost earlier this month. She managed to pull off the victory with a modest US$250,000 raised to her name – compared to some US$1.5 million by Crowley – after rejecting corporate donations.

Ocasio-Cortez grew a strong support base by canvassing voters with a door-to-door campaign and is expected to follow this win with a victory against GOP opponent Anthony Pappas in November.

“This is the beginning because the message that we sent the world tonight is that it’s not OK to put donors before your community,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a post-win address to her supporters.

Ocasio-Cortez was also supported by Sanders' own Our Revolution as well as actress and progressive candidate Cynthia Nixon, who is set to challenge New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the upcoming September 13 primaries. 

The 28-eight-year-old left-wing newcomer defeated 10-term Democrat Joe Crowley, who was touted as a future leader of the Democratic party and possible successor to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, in what is being viewed as one of the biggest political upsets in United States history. She enjoyed a double-digit projected win with about 57.5% to Crowley's 42.5% after 98% of votes had been tallied.

Following the ouster, Crowley said he would support Ocasio-Cortez in November.

“The Trump administration is a threat to everything we stand for here in Queens and the Bronx, and if we don’t win back the House this November, we will lose the nation we love,” he said. “This is why we must come together. We will only be able to stop Donald Trump and the Republican Congress by working together, as a united Democratic Party.”