Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discusses the migrant crisis, aid to Israel and more on "The Point with Marcia Kramer"
NEW YORK - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez went from quietly tending bar to loudly challenging the establishment in Congress, and on the national political stage.
She's known as "AOC" to most of America, and is not afraid to ignore the party line.
The biggest issue right now is immigration.
"I think it's not just about President Biden. It's also about Congress... our government and our governance," Ocasio Cortez told CBS New York's Marcia Kramer. "The first thing we need to do, I think, is actually be able to provide the resources so that our system, as it's currently designed, can function. Right now, because of a Republican-controlled house and so much of what has been going on, some of these basic systems are not even being processed. We don't have our judges to process the visa applications. We don't have our actual paperwork processing so people that people can get work permits, do the things they need to do to get on their feet and not have to rely on our system."
Ocasio Cortez said the most important issue, however, is to "provide a true path to citizenship in this country, and return to a time, because we weren't always like this, return to a time where path to citizenship is accessible, so that people can actually work quickly, get on their feet, find a job and support their families."
New York City's response to the migrant crisis
Ocasio Cortez also called for "open the books on New York City's fiscal operation, on what we're spending and how we're spending it, not just on migrant response, but in general."
She says the city definitely needs more federal help.
"These figures the mayor is citing and using, I think we should show our work for that," Ocasio Cortez said. "We need to show our work too, when we go to the federal government and say this is how the money is being used, this is where it's going to, this is what justifies that figure."
Should U.S. cut back aid to Israel?
"I think so. And I know there's an enormous amount of - I want to acknowledge that this is such an active and sensitive conversation in the world, in the country, especially in our city. But I think that what we are seeing happen, with so many innocent people being killed in Gaza, and of course the horrific bloodshed that happened on October 7th as well, I think a major concern that we have right now is the lack of a plan from Netanyahu's government, the excessive and indiscriminate violence that we are seeing," Ocasio Cortez said. "I think that when we talk about additional military assistance, this is not just about what Israel's doing. This is really a conversation about us, and the United States. And I don't believe that the United States should supplement military assistance in places of grave human rights violations. That's not just my belief, that's the current law on the books, and that is what is happening."
She said the U.S. should "add conditionality."
"If Netanyahu's government is not going to slow down, we can not be complicit in that," Ocasio Cortez said.
Watch her full interview in the video above.
Your Point: Do political labels matter anymore?
New Yorkers told Marcia Kramer whether they thought labels like "conservative," "progressive," or "liberal" matter any more. Watch their reaction in the video above.