Tom Homan confronts Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her webinar on immigrants

The Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, responded sharply to Democratic representative for New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), during an interview on The Ingraham Angle with Laura Ingraham on Tuesday.

Homan warned that the actions of Ocasio-Cortez, who hosted a "Know Your Rights" webinar in February to advise migrants on how to deal with encounters with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), amount to teaching them "how to be prosecuted" by evading deportation court orders.

"I take pleasure [that] I can live in her mind rent-free every day, but we all know exactly what she's doing," Homan asserted, accusing Ocasio-Cortez of "educating the worst of the worst [on] how do we evade law enforcement.”

According to Homan, AOC's instructions, which include recommending migrants apply for warrants, record searches, and differentiate between types of ICE warrants, seek to hinder deportations ordered by federal judges.

"It is illegal to not comply with that order," he stressed, citing Title 8, U.S. Code 1253, which goes into effect May 7 and prohibits actions to circumvent deportation orders.

The conflict

The conflict escalated following a town hall event in Queens last Friday, where Ocasio-Cortez challenged Homan. Responding to his threats to refer her to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly impeding ICE operations.

In that vein, AOC stated, "Tom Homan said he was going to refer me to DOJ because I’m using my free speech rights in order to advise people of their constitutional protections. To that I say, Come for me; do I look like I care?" She added that there is nothing illegal about her webinar and that, if they try to criminalize her, "they can come get me."

Homan, for his part, promised criminal prosecutions for those who obstruct deportations, assuring that starting Wednesday, ICE will intensify its efforts.

"Game's over. We're going to look for these public safety threats, and we're going to take them off those streets in New York and every other sanctuary city," he said.

He further announced that they will triple the presence of agents in 'sanctuary cities, arresting individuals in jails, communities, or workplaces if necessary.

"We're taking these public safety threats off the streets with your help or without your help," said the Trump administration border czar.