When Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York used the term "concentration camp" last week to describe the current situation on the U.S. southern border, she sparked a vicious debate that became less about the crisis at the border and more about what the term really means. "The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are. They are concentration camps," she said in an Instagram live video. Her comments were met with sharp criticisms and responses from politicians and Holocaust organizations.
Many others came to Ocasio-Cortez's defense, arguing that her use of the term was correct and precise.
But the history of the term "concentration camps" is perhaps too complex to be summarized in 280 characters or a quick soundbite.
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