Bronx, NY — Following an uncommon public appearance in his congressional district on October 27th, Ritchie Torres was confronted for supporting ICE and receiving money from AIPAC. In response, he cursed and slammed his car door.

Andre Easton, public school teacher, father of three, and congressional candidate for NY-15, released the following statement on the same day:

“Today in the Bronx, a group of young people confronted Ritchie Torres about his pro-ICE record, and the money he takes from AIPAC and the rest of the pro-Israel lobby.

“Instead of listening, he cursed them out.

“Here are the facts. Ritchie Torres has taken over $2 million from the pro-Israel lobby. He voted for the Laken Riley Act, the first law Trump signed this term. It enables ICE to lock up undocumented immigrants who have only been accused of a crime, not convicted, even for something as small as shoplifting.

“Then he voted for a resolution thanking ICE for “protecting the homeland.”

“But Ritchie Torres is the symptom, not the disease. For over 20 years, Democrats have voted with Republicans to fund ICE while promising to deliver on “comprehensive immigration reform” that never came.

“That’s how we got the deportation machine we’re living under today.

“That same machine came for Alexander Nilaj, a pillar of our community who built the Open Hand food pantry right here in the Bronx. On October 13, ICE kidnapped him and took him to Delaney Hall. Without him, the pantry has stopped giving out food. Ritchie Torres has visited Alexander at Delaney Hall, but he and the Democrats helped build the very same machine that put Alexander there.

“The Bronx is sick of ICE tearing our neighborhoods apart. The Bronx doesn’t want more meaningless measures like Ritchie’s proposal to put QR codes on ICE agents. The Bronx wants ICE out of our communities for good. The Bronx deserves leaders who will fight for full rights for every immigrant, now — not as a distant promise.

“The Bronx needs and deserves socialism: a system where working people hold the political and economic power, and where billions go to housing, healthcare, and childcare instead of ICE and endless wars abroad.”