Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reminds People That 'Christ's Family Were Refugees, Too'

After Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a holiday greeting to everyone including refugee babies in mangers, some critics launched into an ongoing, highly politicized debate about whether Jesus was a refugee.

Merry Christmas everyone - heres to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents), the progressive Democrat from New York tweeted Tuesday .

When critics protested that Jesus wasnt a refugee , she followed up with a link to a Jesuit magazine article arguing he was . The link was meant for all the anti-immigrant pundits uncomfortable with and denying that Christs family were refugees, too, she wrote.

Joy to the World!

Merry Christmas everyone - heres to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents.)

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Joy to the World!

Merry Christmas everyone - heres to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents.)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 25, 2018

For all the anti-immigrant pundits uncomfortable with and denying that Christs family were refugees, too: https://t.co/lLQCupyG3N

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 25, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018","cache_age":86400,"description":"For all the anti-immigrant pundits uncomfortable with and denying that Christs family were refugees, too: https://t.co/lLQCupyG3N Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 25, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on 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For all the anti-immigrant pundits uncomfortable with and denying that Christs family were refugees, too: https://t.co/lLQCupyG3N
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 25, 2018

According to the Christian Gospels , Mary and Joseph endured a long, arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for a census , only to get there and find the towns hostels full. Shortly after the baby Jesus was born in a stable or cave there, they had to flee to Egypt to escape a massacre ordered by King Herod. The family lived there in exile for years.

People continually debate whether Jesus story is applicable to the struggles of todays refugee and migrant families with the arguments often falling along political lines.

Last year, for instance, Fox News co-hosts argued that Jesus wasnt a refugee, after the Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted a call to remember to thank God for his son, Jesus a refugee who fled to Egypt. Sharptons tweet came after President Donald Trump ordered a halt to the nations refugee program and banned travelers from several Muslim-majority nations.

This year Trumps spiritual adviser Paula White also argued that people who said Jesus was a refugee had taken Biblical Scriptures out of context.

However, Pope Francis has said that Jesus was a refugee .

We believe that Jesus was a refugee, had to flee to save his life, with Saint Joseph and Mary, had to leave for Egypt, the pope said in 2014. He was a refugee.

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The pope has often connected the Christmas story to the global migrant crisis, reminding his followers that Jesus family fled to Egypt when he was a baby to escape persecution.

In 2016 the Vaticans Nativity scene included a Maltese fishing boat , to remind visitors of the the sad and tragic reality of migrants on boats making their way toward Italy, the pope said .