Harris, Ocasio-Cortez and the Democratic divide on immigration

Two of the biggest names in the Democratic Party have split over one of the most vexing issues facing President Biden.

Vice President Harris, on her first international trip since taking office, issued a stark warning to would-be migrants from Guatemala on Monday. “Do not come, do not come,” she said at a news conference. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) swiftly branded Harris’s comments “disappointing” and pointed out that seeking asylum at the U.S. border is “a 100% legal method of arrival.”

The congresswoman from New York went on to link migration to past and present U.S. policies in Latin America. In effect, she told Harris and the Biden administration that they needed to show more empathy.

“We can’t help set someone’s house on fire and then blame them for fleeing,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.