In Her Own Words: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Describes the “Intentional Cruelty” She Saw Inside a Migrant Detention Center

Listen to the congresswoman recount shocking conditions at the border, on this special edition of the Mother Jones Podcast.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, gets in an SUV after touring the inside of the Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, on Monday.Cedar Attanasio/AP

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On Monday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined a 16-member congressional delegation that got a rare glimpse inside three highly fortified migrant detention facilities, which she has referred to as “concentration camps.” Mother Jones contributor Jonathan Katz, who writes the “The Long Version” newsletter, accompanied the delegation to the sites, though reporters were not permitted inside. Later, he sat down with Ocasio-Cortez to get her perspective on what had happened during the day, how we got here, and where things might go next. Click here to read Katz’s dispatch from Texas and a full transcript of the interview. And listen below to our exclusive sit-down with the congresswoman who has catapulted the issue to national attention, on this bonus episode of the Mother Jones Podcast:

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Our news will always be free to read, watch, and listen to online. But what is its value?

Unbiased reporting on the issues that billionaire-owned newsrooms won’t touch. Fearless research into the dark corners of government and corporations. Ferociously fact-checked news that focuses on the facts, and the facts alone.

It IS free for you and every reader, viewer, and listener to utilize. But it’s not free for our team to make. So, what’s it worth to you? Let us know by making a donation: Make a one-time donation today to support this work. Or make a monthly sustaining donation to help us plan for the future.

Whatever you choose, know that you’re supporting more independent, investigative journalism in a time when we need it most.

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