The frequently wrong but never in doubt congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez marked Christmas Day by declaring Jesus a ‘refugee baby’ in a tweet that went viral among the historically illiterate. Ocasio’s comment regurgitates a popular leftist canard of recent years that equates the Holy Family with Latin American and Muslim migrants crossing illegally into the United States and Europe, respectively, because Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fled the Massacre of the Innocents in Judea for Egypt. The flaw in the leftists’ argument is that at the time of the Holy Family’s voyage neither Judea nor Egypt were independent nations but rather provinces of Rome. It seems ironic that Ocasio, who today waxes philosophic about the alleged Israeli occupation of Palestine, should forget the actual Roman occupation of Judea. But then again, Ocasio admits she’s “not the expert” on the subject.
The Holy Family traveled from one province of Rome into another to escape persecution. As a matter of political organization, such a voyage more closely resembles the flight of overtaxed Californians into Texas than it does a caravan of Hondurans into San Diego. Likewise, Jesus was never “undocumented,” as goes another popular talking point; rather, he was born in Bethlehem as his parents journeyed to register their identities with the government.
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