Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — Democrat Candidate for U.S. House in New York, 2026

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advocates for a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants, including DREAMers, citing their integral role in communities and the economy and the need for humanity and dignity in policy. She has supported legislation like the 9/11 Immigrant Worker Freedom Act to provide citizenship pathways. She consistently voted against bills perceived as restrictive, such as the Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025 and the Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act, and calls for abolishing ICE.

“So I don’t want to hear about how this is about illegal vs. legal immigration, they are attacking legal status and removing legal status.” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a House oversight committee hearing, as reported by Yahoo News.”

Representative Ocasio-Cortez supports expanding access to healthcare, advocating for the Medicare for All Act of 2021 (H.R.1976) to guarantee healthcare for all. She also urges extending the Affordable Care Act through 2026 and helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act to lower prescription drug costs. Additionally, she criticizes monopolistic practices in the healthcare industry, citing concerns about higher costs for patients and calling for legislation to promote competition.

““And if we believe in competition, I think we should put our votes and our legislation in alignment with that, and consider breaking up this industry in order to allow the competition that prevents this kind of vertical integration and abuse of power.” — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Health Subcommittee hearing, January 22, 2026.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez strongly supports climate action, evidenced by her advocacy for the Green New Deal, which aims to create jobs and transition to renewable energy for a net-zero carbon economy by 2030. She consistently votes against measures detrimental to environmental protections, achieving scores such as 100% from the League of Conservation Voters in multiple years. She links climate policies to making life more affordable for constituents.

“"The people who bear responsibility are fossil fuel co’s + the politicians they buy," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, social media, as reported by WACH, 2026.”

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez strongly supports abortion and reproductive rights. She co-sponsored and voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act to codify abortion rights and rejects restrictions on reproductive healthcare, advocating for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment. Ocasio-Cortez also led a letter demanding reversal of guidance that threatens global reproductive freedoms, asserting such programs advance human rights. She encourages men to participate in discussions on the issue.

““Government programs supporting abortion care, as well as prenatal and maternal care, advance rather than violate human rights." Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Press Release, February 9, 2026.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez consistently votes against the National Defense Authorization Act, citing concerns over the large military budget and insufficient funding for domestic issues. She advocates for a foreign policy centered on human rights, diplomacy, and the working class, moving away from interventionism and imperialism. She also urged the Senate to block weapons transfers to the Israeli government and submitted amendments to the NDAA promoting human rights and fighting climate change.

“There's no conversation about Ukraine that can happen without Ukraine. And so they, of course, lead in terms of setting their terms on this. But I think that, overall, as a principle, we shouldn't reward imperialism. And I don't think that we should allow Russia to continue, or any nation to continue, violating a nation's sovereignty and to continue to be rewarded, and whose main lesson and takeaway is that they will gain. And so what that looks like in the specifics, I think is a deeper conversation, but on principle, I think that is what we should be pursuing." - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at Technische Universität Berlin, February 15, 2026.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advocates for tuition-free public colleges and trade schools and supports the full cancellation of all outstanding federal and private student loans. She emphasizes the right to an affordable, high-quality education, from pre-K through post-secondary levels, and is the lead House sponsor for the Child Care for Every Community Act. She also backs increased federal funding for K-12 schools and programs like Head-Start and TRIO.

““We’ve turned childhood itself into a privilege, not a promise. It is time that we give all families the quality, affordable child care they deserve,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement to The 19th.”

Representative Ocasio-Cortez strongly supports gun reform legislation, including the Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill signed in 2022. This bill expanded background checks for young buyers, broadened prohibitions for domestic abusers, and encouraged state red flag laws. She also advocates for new background check requirements for private firearm transfers and criminalizing the import or sale of certain firearms, citing the need to prevent violence.

“Every single day, there are people in this building that continue to vote against doing anything," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Sept. 10, referring to the Capitol building and Republicans in Congress. "They vote against universal background checks. They continue to support legislation and also remove any way to block the mentally ill, to block extremists, to block people with histories and records of domestic violence from getting guns in their hands. So are we going to do something about this or not?" (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, USA Today, September 11, 2025)”