Rep. Henry Cuellar said Wednesday he doesn't agree with fellow Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her comments that the United States is running "concentration camps" on the Mexican border, but he also said he doesn't know — despite being pushed hard on the issue — if she should apologize for her comments.
"She has a different perception of what we have down there at the border," the Texas Democrat said on Fox News' America's Newsroom about the New York freshman's comments. "I live at the border. I've been to those detention centers...keep in mind, if you are talking about children, those shelters are taken care of, are run by nonprofits under Health and Human Services."
Cuellar said chooses to respect what AOC has to say, even if he does disagree.
"I will tell you again I've been to those shelters for children," said Cuellar. "I call them shelters. If there are families, there are detentions. So again, I don't know what she was referring to but, I would not use the concentration word."
Show co-anchor Bill Hemmer pushed Cuellar on the point, noting that AOC had used the phrase "never again," which "all Jews" know as a Holocaust reference, and then called it "incendiary language" and asked Cuellar if she owes an apology to Jewish people.
Also on Wednesday, Cuellar said he doesn't follow his party's views on sanctuary cities, as laws must be enforced without exceptions.
"I live on the border," he said. "I spend a lot of time with my Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officials on the border. We have to enforce the law. No open borders."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.