Topics in the News: Mexican Border
Ron DeSantis on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jan 11, 2022)
Re-route illegal aliens in Florida to sanctuary states
As a state, we cannot be a party to what is effectively a massive human smuggling operation run by the federal government. Companies who are facilitating the movement of illegal aliens from the southern border to Florida should be held accountable,
including by paying restitution to the state for all the costs they are imposing on our communities. I am also requesting funds so that when the feds dump illegal aliens in Florida, the state can re-route them to states that have sanctuary policies.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Idaho legislature
Alejandro Mayorkas on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 26, 2021)
Border migration irregular, ebbs and flows
ABBOTT: When you have an administration that has abandoned any pretense of securing the border and securing our sovereignty, you see the onrush of people like what we saw walking across this dam that is right behind me. MAYORKAS: This is nothing
new. We've seen this type of irregular migration many, many times throughout the years. I don't know if Governor Abbott said the same thing in 2019 when there were more than a million people encountered at the southern border.
Click for Alejandro Mayorkas on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2021 joint interview Mayorkas & Abbott
Joe Biden on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 2, 2021)
Task Force on Reunification of Families at Mexican border
PROMISE MADE: (Miami Primary debate, 6/27/19): "The first thing I would do is unite families. I'd surge immediately billions of dollars' worth of help to the region immediately. Second thing, the law now requires the reuniting of those
families. We would reunite those families, period."PROMISE KEPT:(Executive Order on Reunification, Feb. 2, 2021): There is hereby established an Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families. The Task Force shall identify all
children who were separated from their families at the US-Mexico border in connection with the operation of the Zero-Tolerance Policy [and] facilitate and enable the reunification of each of the identified children with their families.
OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Establishing a Task Force is a good start--as well as overturning Trump's controversial policy of family separation at the southern border. But actual reunification will take years (and the promised billions).
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: White House press release on Biden Promises
Joe Biden on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 2, 2021)
Focus on causes of migration within Northern Triangle
PROMISE MADE: (Biden OpEd in Washington Post, 6/25/18): The Northern Triangle represents the overwhelming source of migrants crossing our southern border. Unless we address the root causes driving migration from this region, any solutions
focused solely on border protection and enforcement will be insufficient.PROMISE KEPT:(Executive Order on Causes of Migration, 2/2/21): We will work closely with international organizations and governments in the region to: establish
a comprehensive strategy for addressing the causes of migration; build, strengthen, and expand Central American countries' asylum systems and resettlement capacity; and increase opportunities for vulnerable populations to apply for protection closer
to home.
OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Biden's order includes the Northern Triangle and "causes of migration"--contrasting Trump's focus on border enforcement, which included the "Remain-in-Mexico policy" for Northern Triangle asylum seekers.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: White House press release on Biden Promises
Mike Pence on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 27, 2020)
National security starts with border security
Pence: This president knows that national security starts with border security. Under the president's leadership, we made historic investments to secure our border and end the crisis of illegal immigration. Mexico is doing more than ever before to secure
our southern border, and apprehensions are down by 80% in the last 12 months. And we have already started to build that wall on the southern border of the United States.Crowd: Build that wall!
Pence: We are building it. we are building it.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Remarks by V.P. Pence at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Elizabeth Warren on Mexican Border:
(Health Care Feb 26, 2020)
The most vulnerable people are susceptible to Coronavirus
Q: We heard from President Trump tonight, on dealing with the spread of the Coronavirus. What would you do as president?WARREN: This really is serious. We know that, with any virus that develops, the most vulnerable will be our children, seniors,
people with compromised immune systems. First we think about allocation--our overall approach. I'm going to be introducing a plan tomorrow to take every dime that the president is now spending on his racist wall at our southern border and divert it to
work on the Coronavirus.
Q: V.P. Pence is in charge of the U.S. response?
WARREN: We need someone in the White House who is coordinating all of the work and all of the messaging and all of the information. Do keep in mind that this vice president
has dealt with a public health emergency before, in Indiana [with HIV]. And what was his approach? It was to put politics over science and let a serious virus expand in his state and cost people lives. He is not the person who should be in charge.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: CNN S. C. Town Hall for 2020 Presidential primary
Deval Patrick on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 6, 2020)
Allowed MA to shelter Central American refugee children
I remember once we had a crisis at the southern border in the last year I was in office, where all these unaccompanied children were coming across, some as young as four, five years old, fleeing violence in Central America. And the authorities were
overwhelmed.And I remember that President Obama asked a number of governors if we would shelter the children for a period of time while they were being processed as refugees. And I agreed to do so. We had the facilities. We had done it before.
And I explained my reasoning to the people of Massachusetts as being based in both patriotism and faith, patriotism, because this country has given shelter to desperate children for a very long time.
One time we didn't, we turned a shipload of
Jewish children back to the Holocaust. It's been a blight on our national reputation ever since, as I fear the separation of children at the southern border will be.
Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Tom Steyer on Mexican Border:
(Foreign Policy Dec 24, 2019)
More foreign aid for Central America
Steyer has not taken a position on the economic and political crisis in Venezuela, and he has made few comments on U.S. policy elsewhere in the region.
He says he will provide more foreign aid for Central American countries as part of his plan to address the record number of asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. southern border.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
Pete Buttigieg on Mexican Border:
(Civil Rights Dec 19, 2019)
Look at reparations to mend generational theft of racism
Q: You said last month that the U.S. owes compensation to children separated from their families at the Southern border. Should the US also compensate descendants of enslaved people? Do you support reparations for African Americans?Pete Buttigieg:
I support H.R. 40 which is the bill that has been proposed in Congress to establish a commission to look at reparations, but we shouldn't wait for that commission to do its work to do things that are reparative. Remember we're not talking about a gift
to anybody. We're talking about mending what was broken. We're talking about the generational theft of the wealth of generations of African Americans. And just crossing out our racist policy and replacing it with a neutral one is not enough.
The United States must act immediately with investments in minority-owned businesses, with investments in health equity, with investments in HBCUs and on the longer term a look at reparations so that we can mend what has been broken.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Newshour/Politico/PBS December Democratic primary debate
Elizabeth Warren on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Nov 20, 2019)
Stop the man-made "crisis" at the southern border
Q: You've said that the border wall that President Trump has proposed is, "a monument to hate and division." Would you ask taxpayers to pay to take down any part of the wall on the nation's southern border?
WARREN: If there are parts of the wall that are not useful in our defense, of course we should do it. The real point here is that we need to stop this manmade crisis at the border.
Trump is the one who has created this crisis, and he has done it in no small part by helping destabilize the governments even further in Central America. He has withdrawn aid. That means that families have to flee for their lives, have to flee for any
economic opportunity. We need to treat the people who come here with dignity and with respect. A great nation does not separate children from their families. We need to live our values at the border every single day.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta
Joe Walsh on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 24, 2019)
End policy of family separation at the southern border
On immigration:- Walsh has long said that immigration is a key issue that he and his listeners care about.
Speaking to PBS Newshour's Judy Woodruff in August, Walsh said he would end the Trump administration policy of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border.
- Walsh also said he would be "tougher" on people who try to illegally enter the US, but added that he would allocate more resources toward dealing with asylum cases because those represent legal
border crossings. "It's our responsibility to hear those claims," he said.
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: Business Insider background for 2019 GOP presidential debate
Jay Inslee on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jul 17, 2019)
No additional funding for Southern Border wall
Jay Inslee on The Wall: Don't support additional wall funding.FOUR CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Kamala Harris;
Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Elizabeth Warren.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tim Ryan on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jul 17, 2019)
No additional funding for Southern Border wall
Tim Ryan on The Wall: Don't support additional wall funding.FOUR CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Kamala Harris;
Jay Inslee; Bernard Sanders; Elizabeth Warren.
Click for Tim Ryan on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Joe Sestak on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jul 16, 2019)
Support economic development to stem tide of refugees
Sestak said, "They are fleeing drug cartels and violence and poor economies and other things," of migrant flows across the southern border. "The way we did it, for example, with the Marshall Plan in 1948, our military stopped Germany, but we fixed
fascism by making sure there are some economic development there. We should be working with OAS to be down there and help development, because that is the primary cause of it and where it is all coming from."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Breitbart.com on 2020 Democratic 2020 Veepstakes
Tom Steyer on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jul 10, 2019)
Fight deportation and expand services for immigrants
As the migrant crisis at the southern border ramped up last year, Steyer donated $1 million to legal aid groups working to assist immigrants facing deportation. He said it was vital that legal services for immigrants seeking assistance "be expanded and
strengthened" until the U.S. was able to address the issue in "a comprehensive and humane way." On its website, NextGen America states that a system that profits off of immigrants' labor without offering them a path to citizenship is "inherently unjust."
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
Michael Bennet on Mexican Border:
(Principles & Values Jun 27, 2019)
Jewish mother survived Holocaust in Warsaw Ghetto
Michael Bennet said in the first round of Democratic primary debates about Trump's policy of separating children from their parents at the Mexican border, "When I see these kids at the border, I see my mom, because I know she sees herself, because she
was separated from her parents for years during the Holocaust in Poland." Does that mean Michael Bennet's mother is a Holocaust survivor from the Warsaw Ghetto and therefore that Bennet is Jewish? We checked.Yes, Bennet's mother, Susanne Christine
Klejman, was born in the Warsaw Ghetto (where Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany imprisoned Polish Jews during WWII), in 1938. Her parents survived and she emigrated to America in 1950.
Bennet's father, Douglas Bennet, is a Christian. Under Jewish religious
law, anyone born to a Jewish mother is automatically Jewish, including those with Christian fathers. Michael Bennet married his wife via an Episcopal priest, and says he believes in God, but observes neither Jewish nor Christian religious rituals.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on June Democratic Primary debate
Steve Bullock on Mexican Border:
(Immigration May 15, 2019)
Refused to send National Guard troops to the southern border
As the head of a state bordering Canada, Bullock has largely stayed out of the political debate over immigration and border security on the U.S.-Mexico border. Earlier this year, he refused to send National Guard troops to the southern border
to assist with what the Trump administration described as a national security and humanitarian "crisis." Bullock was one of 11 governors to sign a letter urging Congress to protect the roughly 800,000 "Dreamers" who were brought to the
U.S. illegally as children and are protected under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.
As Montana attorney general, he also opposed a state law that banned undocumented immigrants from accessing state jobs and services.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2020, "Where the candidate stands on 9 issues"
Pete Buttigieg on Mexican Border:
(Immigration May 6, 2019)
Most Americans are immigrants or their descendants
Buttigieg thinks the country needs comprehensive immigration reform, but hasn't said what that will entail. He thinks current policy at the southern border, including building the wall and separating families is bad policy. "I'm here because of
immigration," he said in a Scripps College town hall. "My father immigrated to this country and that's why I'm here. And most of us, unless we're descended from the first nations have that in our story, either came here or were brought here."
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Indianapolis Star on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Julian Castro on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Apr 22, 2019)
Reverse Muslim ban; Marshall Plan for Central America
In a Medium post, Castro outlined his extensive immigration policy, which includes reversing Trump policies such as the Muslim ban, spending on a southern border wall and cuts to refugee programs. Castro proposed a 21st Century
Marshall Plan for Central America to focus on stabilizing the countries with the largest number of migrants coming to the U.S.Castro wants an overhaul of the pathway to citizenship for immigrants, especially for DACA recipients.
He criticized a policy shift under President George W. Bush that allows immigrants to be charged in the criminal court rather than civil.
Castro wants to split ICE in half, and keep "national security functions such as human and drug trafficking and anti-terrorism investigations within the Department of Homeland Security."
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Marianne Williamson on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Apr 14, 2019)
Need to examine how US policy created border crisis
[Regarding the Mexican border]: The real crisis is not just that so many people are coming over the border. The real crisis is the human despair and desperation that has led them to take their children on their backs over hundreds
and even thousands of miles of desert. Nobody does this because things are going well.
We need to look deeply at American foreign policy in Latin America and how we have contributed to situations where there was level of despair because too often in our foreign policy,
just like in our domestic, our government has done more to be supporting short-term profits for major corporate interests than people.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 Democratic primary
Andrew Yang on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Apr 14, 2019)
Need more case workers & judges at southern border
We have a migrant crisis on the southern border. And it's in part because the composition of the people who are showing up at the border is changing, where now it's people who are applying for asylum, and unfortunately we don't have the resources to
process them in any kind of effective punctual or effective way, and so the waiting period is literally over a year in some cases. We need to put more resources to work on our southern border. We need more facilities, case workers, asylum judges.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Seth Moulton on Mexican Border:
(Homeland Security Mar 31, 2019)
Focus on cybersecurity to deal with real threats to US
National security is not just about preventing Russia from invading us with tanks into Western Europe. Russia is trying to hack our elections. China is attacking us through the Internet every single day and stealing our business ideas and
our military -- that's where a lot of American jobs are going. Rather than build this fifth century ridiculous border wall on the southern border, let's talk about a cyber wall that will stop Russia and China from interfering in our business.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: CNN State of the Union 2019 on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Andrew Yang on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Mar 29, 2019)
Come out of shadows with long-term permanent residency
As President, I will...- Secure the southern border and drastically decrease the number of illegal entries into the US
- Provide a new tier of long-term permanent residency for anyone who has been here illegally for a substantial
amount of time so that they can come out of the shadows and enter the formal economy and become full members of the community.
- This new tier would permit individuals to work and stay in the country, provided they pay their taxes and don't get
convicted of a felony.
- This tier would put them on a longer, eighteen-year path to citizenship (the same amount of time it takes those born in the US to get full citizenship rights), reflecting our desire to bring them into our country but also their
decision to circumvent legal immigration channels.
- Invest heavily in an information campaign to inform immigrant communities of this new tier of residency, and deport any undocumented immigrant who doesn't proactively enroll in the program.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com
John Hickenlooper on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Mar 4, 2019)
Family separation policy is cruel and un-American
- Immigration and border security: Opposes family separation policy.
- Hickenlooper signed an executive order as governor prohibiting the use of Colorado state resources to help implement the Trump administration's family separation policy at the
southern border, calling the policy "cruel and un-American."
- Hickenlooper also did not send any National Guard troops to the southern border when Trump called on governors to do so in 2018.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mike Pence on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Mar 1, 2019)
Unsecured Mexican border is a national emergency
Every day we don't secure our border, we're allowing the crisis to worsen, more lives to be endangered, and more people to be exploited, and more drugs to flow into our country. That's why President Trump used his authority under the law to
declare a national emergency on our southern border. We call on every member of Congress: Stand up for border security, stop playing politics with the security of the American people, and stand with President Trump for a stronger and safer America.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: White House press release, "Remarks at CPAC 2019"
Kamala Harris on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 27, 2019)
Reform system, against "vanity project" of border wall
Harris spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement, "As Senator, Harris is focused on protecting Dreamers, fighting this president's attempts to build a vanity project on the southern border, exercising more oversight of
ICE, reforming our immigration system with a path to citizenship. and reuniting families separated by this administration. Those will be her priorities should she be elected president."
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN KFile, "Juveniles," on 2020 Democratic primary
Bernie Sanders on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 25, 2019)
Real national emergency is creating path to citizenship
Trump is not going to get the wall [which he claims is needed to deal with the "national emergency" at the southern border]. The real national emergency that we have is that we do not have comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship.
The emergency that we have is we have 1.8 million young people who are eligible for the DACA program who are scared to death any day that they could be deported, even though they spent their whole lives in this country.
The goal is to finally deal with comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship and a humane policy at the border for those who seek asylum.
America should not be the country which grabs little children at the border out of the arms of their mothers. That is not that what this country needs to be.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Howard Schultz on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 12, 2019)
Border security ok, but don't demonize immigrants
The DREAMers should be allowed a pathway to citizenship. And the 11 million to 12 million unauthorized people who are here should get in line in a fair way, pay their back taxes, pay a fee, and bring them in. We are a country of immigrants.
The US should not be building walls. We should be building bridges and allow people in. It is the foundation of our society. But we also should do everything we can to secure the borders with the best technology available, and not allow bad people in.
Click for Howard Schultz on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Gavin Newsom on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 11, 2019)
National Guard for crime on border, not immigration
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to withdraw National Guard troops from the state's southern border with Mexico, in defiance of the Trump administration's request for support from border states. About 100 of the 360 troops will remain deployed under California's
agreement with the federal government to focus specifically on combating transnational crime such as drug and gun smuggling. Specifically, they will be tasked with providing intelligence on transnational crime and assist with cargo dock operations and
searches of commercial trucks for contraband.Newsom's order will argue that the increase in Central American migrants crossing over the border is the result of a desire to escape violence and
repression fueled in part by the activities of transnational crime organizations. The California guard's resources are best spent tackling those activities, he plans to argue.
Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.
Source: CBS News on 2018 California gubernatorial race
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Drugs Feb 6, 2019)
FactCheck: Wall wouldn't affect drugs coming from Mexico
CLAIM: Trump cited the need for a border wall in the State of the Union, claiming that 'tens of thousands' of Americans are killed by drugs coming across the Mexican border.FACT-CHECK: It's correct that lethal drugs do come across the border, and
drug overdose deaths are up: 70,237 people died from an overdose in 2017. But Trump--in pushing for a border wall--tends to ignore that the vast majority of hard drugs from Mexican cartels come into the U.S. through legal ports of entry, which wouldn't
be affected by a wall.
According to the 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment by the DEA, "The most common method employed by these [Mexican drug cartels] involves transporting illicit drugs through US POEs (legal port-of-entry crossing points) in
passenger vehicles with concealed compartments or commingled with legitimate goods on tractor trailers." The Trump administration knows this: the DHS Secretary said in April 2017 that illegal drug traffic "mostly comes through the ports of entry."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: NBC News Fact-Check on 2019 State of the Union address
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 6, 2019)
FactCheck: border mayors claim towns are secure & safe
NM Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump. "I reject the federal contention
that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said.In its fact check of Trump's State of the Union speech, NPR relayed these assessments: "As for the 'state of our Southern border,' mayors along the
Southwest border consistently say that their communities are among the safest in the nation. McAllen TX Mayor Jim Darling asserted that his city is the 3rd safest in Texas, according to FBI crime statistics, and 7th safest in the nation. 'Send social
workers to process the asylum-seekers, not soldiers,' Darling said. Eddie Trevino, Cameron County judge in Brownsville, added, 'It is a misconception that the border is insecure. There is no Central American invasion. This is a manufactured crisis.' "
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2019 State of the Union address
Andrew Yang on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 6, 2019)
Supports the DREAM Act
Yang has conceded that the Southern border needs more security but has offered no specific alternatives to the president's border wall.
Supports the DREAM Act.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Drugs Feb 5, 2019)
MS-13 gangs in 20 states smuggle in meth & opioids
Tens of thousands of innocent Americans are killed by lethal drugs that cross our border and flood into our cities--including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.The savage gang, MS-13, now operates in 20 different American States, and they almost
all come through our southern border. Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting in NYC. We are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border they're going to keep streaming back in.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 5, 2019)
Powerful wall in San Diego stopped nearly all crossings
My Administration has sent to the Congress a commonsense proposal to end the crisis on our southern border. It includes humanitarian assistance, more law enforcement, drug detection at our ports, closing loopholes that enable child smuggling,
and plans for a new physical barrier, or wall, to secure the vast areas between our ports of entry. In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall--but the proper wall never got built. I'll get it built.This is a smart, strategic,
see-through steel barrier--not just a simple concrete wall. It will be deployed in the areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need, and as these agents will tell you, where walls go up, illegal crossings go way down.
San Diego
used to have the most illegal border crossings in the country. In response, and at the request of San Diego residents and political leaders, a strong security wall was put in place. This powerful barrier almost completely ended illegal crossings.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 5, 2019)
ICE guards dangerous southern border against criminal aliens
Not one more American life should be lost because our Nation failed to control its very dangerous border. In the last 2 years,
our brave ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of criminal aliens, including those charged or convicted of nearly 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 killings.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress
Bernie Sanders on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 5, 2019)
Comprehensive reform instead of an emergency wall
President Trump stated tonight, and, over and over again in recent weeks, that building a wall on the Mexican border is a national emergency. In fact, he shut down the government and caused enormous pain for some 800,000 federal employees because of
his insistence for his wall.No, Mr. Trump, building a wall is not an emergency.
In terms of immigration in this country, what we need to do is not to waste billions of dollars on a wall, but to finally address the need for comprehensive
immigration reform--including a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented people.
It is inhumane, and not what America stands for, that tiny children at the border have been torn away from their parents. It is disgraceful that 1.8 million
young people have lost their legal protection under the DACA program because of Trump's actions. It is heartbreaking that almost 11 million undocumented people living in this country worry every day about being deported & separated from their loved ones.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Progressive response to 2019 State of the Union speech
Julian Castro on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 4, 2019)
Against funding border wall
According to his campaign website, Castro said, "It's about separating our country from the rest of the world and cowering in fear. This is not how most Americans want us to behave--neither building a wall nor shutting down the government.
Let us be clear: Any bill to fund the government must not include any funding for a wall at our southern border. Democrats in Congress should not buckle to the tyrant's demands."
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com: "The 2020 Democrats" (presidential hopefuls)
Cory Booker on Mexican Border:
(Families & Children Feb 1, 2019)
Opposes family separation policy at southern border
- The New Jersey senator is also a vocal critic of Trump administration immigration policies that led to the separation of thousands of families at the Southern border.
- He was one of 11 senators, including 2020 presidential candidates Sens.
Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to request weekly updates from the administration about children who were separated from their families.
- Booker also co-sponsored the REUNITE Act, a bill to reunite separated families.
-
He visited the border to see the impact of Trump's immigration policies, and later objected to the Pentagon sending troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in the run-up to the 2018 midterms."
-
Unlike some Democrats, Booker has stopped short of calling for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and instead believes Congress should take a "serious look" at the agency.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Julian Castro on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jan 12, 2019)
Secure the border by using technology, not a wall
- Immigration, ICE and the border: Allow a path to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants. "Reconstitute" U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- Castro supports comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to
citizenship for most of the estimated 11 million undocumented people in the United States.
-
Castro opposes Trump's border wall plan, and instead has proposed securing the border by using technology and a more efficient legal immigration process.
-
When asked if he thinks ICE should be abolished, as some Democrats argued in the run-up to the 2018 midterms, Castro told Bustle he thinks the agency needs to change its culture and be "reconstituted."
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jan 8, 2019)
Border wall sends the message "KEEP OUT"
A wall on the border with Mexico was a total waste of taxpayer money. I am a strong believer in border security--but experts agree that a wall will not secure our border.But there was a bigger reason to oppose the border wall. A useless wall on the
southern border would be nothing more than a symbol, a monument standing in opposition to not just everything I value, but to the fundamental values upon which this country was built.
The Statue of Liberty is the monument that defines to the world who we are. Emma Lazarus's words--"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"--speak true to our true character: a generous country that respects and
embraces those who have made the difficult journey to our shores, often fleeing harm. How could I vote to build what would be little more than a monument, designed to send the cold, hard message "KEEP OUT"?
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: The Truths We Hold, by Kamala Harris, p.164-5
Amy Klobuchar on Mexican Border:
(Health Care Aug 24, 2018)
Allow sick people to obtain insurance
It would be hard to find two candidates further apart on issues than state Rep. Jim Newberger and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who are fighting for the six year seat in the U.S. Senate. In a debate at the Minnesota State Fair, Republican Newberger called
for a return to free-market health care, said he does not believe climate change is man-made and declared a wall is needed along the Mexican border.Democrat Klobuchar, meanwhile, told the Minnesota Public Radio debate
audience that federal laws such as allowing sick people to obtain insurance should be continued, said she agrees with a majority of scientists who think climate change is at least partly due to human activity and felt Mexican border security should be a
combination of a wall, fence and personnel.
In a rare area of agreement, Klobuchar and Newberger said the federal government needs to find a way to keep prescription medicine costs down.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Twin Cities Pioneer Press on 2018 Minnesota Senate debate
Pope Francis on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jun 20, 2018)
Separating immigrant parents from children is immoral
Pope Francis has criticized the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant families at the Mexican border, saying populism is not the answer to the world's immigration problems. The Pope said he supported recent statements by US Catholic
bishops who called the separation of children from their parents "contrary to our Catholic values" & "immoral".One of his most pointed messages concerned Pres. Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy, in which US authorities hold illegal immigrant
adults in jail while their children are sent to government shelters.
US Catholic bishops have joined other religious leaders in the US in condemning the policy. "I am on the side of the bishops' conference," the pope said, referring to two statements
from US bishops this month. "Let it be clear that in these things, I respect the bishops conference."
"It's not easy, but populism is not the solution," Francis said. The pope said populists were "creating psychosis" on the issue of immigration.
Click for Pope Francis on other issues.
Source: Reuters on 2018 Trump Administration
Kamala Harris on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 26, 2018)
No border wall in any comprehensive bill
Harris voted against a Senate immigration bill backed by centrists from both parties earlier this month. She argued that while the bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants who entered the country illegally, it was a step too far
because of the inclusion of money for President Trump's wall on the Mexican border, and that she could not support it in good conscience."While this bill would put Dreamers on a pathway toward citizenship, the appropriation of $25 billion for a
border wall is a waste of taxpayer money," she said. "A wall will not secure our border and I remain concerned those billions of dollars may also be used to implement this Administration's anti-immigrant agenda--one that targets California and its
residents."
Those close to Harris maintain that Harris has felt passionately for years about [immigration issues]. In particular, they say protecting dreamers has been her top priority since she was elected to the Senate.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Amie Parnes in The Hill on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jan 30, 2018)
Four pillars to a fair compromise, including 1.8M DREAMers
Here are the four pillars of our bipartisan immigration reform package:- Generously offer a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age.
- Fully secure the border. That means
building a wall on the Southern border. Crucially, our plan closes the terrible loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country--and it finally ends the dangerous practice of "catch and release."
- End the visa lottery, and move
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2018 State of the Union address
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 14, 2017)
Hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents on Mexican border
Trump signed a burst of executive orders within just his first three weeks to undo many of President Barack Obama's regulatory policies. Here's an overview:Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements: Signed: Jan. 25, 2017
The order is aimed at fulfilling one of Trump's key campaign promises--enhancing border security--by directing federal funding to construction of a wall along the Mexico-U.S. border. It instructs the secretary of homeland security to prepare
congressional budget requests for the wall and to "end the abuse of parole and asylum provisions" that complicate the removal of undocumented immigrants.Other parts of the order call for hiring 5,000 more
Border Patrol agents, building facilities to hold undocumented immigrants near the Mexican border and ending "catch-and-release" protocols, in which immigrants in the United States without documentation are not detained while they await court hearings.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: NBC News on 2017 Trump Administration promises & actions
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Oct 19, 2016)
We have some bad hombres here; I'll get them out
I was up in New Hampshire the other day. The single biggest problem is heroin that pours across our southern border. It's just pouring and destroying their youth. It's poisoning the blood of their youth and plenty of other people. We have to have strong
borders. We have to keep the drugs out of our country. We are getting the drugs, they're getting the cash. We need strong borders. We cannot give amnesty. I want to build the wall. We have some bad hombres here, and we're going to get them out.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Oct 19, 2016)
FactCheck: Yes, voted for a partial wall on Mexican border
[Clinton and Trump went back-and-forth on border security]:- CLINTON: "I have been for border security for years; I voted for border security in the US Senate."
- TRUMP: "Hillary Clinton wanted the wall in 2006 or thereabouts."
- CLINTON:
I voted for border security, and there are some limited places where [a wall] was appropriate."
- Who's right?
They both can claim to be correct here, based on these two YES votes by Hillary as Senator:-
Vote #235 on June 28, 2007 on S.1639, the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill: "Establishes specified benchmarks which must be met [before comprehensive reform, including] operational control of the border with Mexico; Border Patrol increases; border
barriers, including vehicle barriers, fencing, radar, and aerial vehicles.
- Vote #262 on Sept. 29, 2006 on H.R.6061, the Secure Fence Act:[including] "physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful border entry."
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: OnTheIssues Fact-checking on Third 2016 Presidential Debate
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Aug 31, 2016)
10-point plan: wall; zero tolerance; biometrics; E-Verify
- We will build a great wall along the southern border. And Mexico will pay for it.
- We are going to end catch and release.
- Zero tolerance for criminal aliens. Zero. They don't come in here. We're going to triple the number of ICE
deportation officers. We're also going to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents.
- Block funding for sanctuary cities. No more funds.
- Cancel unconstitutional executive orders and enforce all immigration laws.
- Suspend issuance of visas to any
place where adequate screening cannot occur.
- Ensure that other countries take their people back when they are deported.
- We will finally complete the biometric entry-exit visa tracking system which we need desperately. The politicians are all talk,
no action, never happens.
- Turn off the jobs and benefits magnet. We will ensure that E-Verify is used to the fullest extent possible under existing law.
- Reform legal immigration to serve the best interests of America and its workers.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Ballotpedia.org on Campaign speech in Phoenix Arizona
Pope Francis on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 19, 2016)
It's not Christian to build a wall on US-Mexican border
Pope Francis declared that Donald Trump is "not Christian" if he wants to address illegal immigration only by building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump fired back ferociously, saying it was "disgraceful" for a religious leader to question a
person's faith.The rare back-and-forth between pontiff and presidential candidate underscored the popular pope's willingness to needle U.S. politicians on hot-button issues. Francis' comments came hours after he concluded a visit to Mexico, where he
prayed at the border for people who died trying to reach the U.S. He was asked what he thought of Trump's campaign pledge to build a wall along the entire length of the border. "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not
building bridges, is not Christian," he said. While Francis said he would "give the benefit of the doubt" because he had not heard Trump's border plans independently, he added, "I say only that this man is not a Christian if he has said things like that.
Click for Pope Francis on other issues.
Source: Japan Today on Foreign Influence, by N. Winfield and J. Pace
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Nov 10, 2015)
Walls on borders work; just ask Israel
We are a country of laws. We need borders. We will have a wall [on the Mexican border]. The wall will be built. The wall will be successful. And if you think walls don't work, all you have to do is ask Israel. The wall works, believe me. Properly done.
Believe me. [OnTheIssues note: Trump refers to the "separation barrier" that Israel built surrounding the Palestinian areas of the West Bank. It has reduced terrorist attacks, but is controversial in the peace process].
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Nov 3, 2015)
Building 1,000-mile wall is possible, if we make commitment
Nobody can build a wall like me. I will build a great wall on our southern border. It's probably about 1,000 miles we will need to secure with the new wall. There are people who say it can't be done, that it's not possible to build a wall 1,000
miles long. Except beginning more than 2,000 years ago the Chinese built a wall that eventually stretched almost 13,000 miles that could never be breached.
It was a combination of massive walls, impassible trenches and ditches, and rugged natural terrain, as well as an estimated 25,000 watchtowers. Believe me, our wall- building technology has improved a lot in 2,000 years.
What we don't have that the Chinese had is the commitment to do it. They understood the danger of leaving their border unprotected and they did something about it. We talk about it and do nothing.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 23-4
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Health Care Sep 22, 2015)
Shifted from favoring universal care to opposing ObamaCare
Trump's tough-guy statements communicated the feeling of plain-spoken English but were more like the deliberate double-speak of carnival barkers.
In fact, his message was so convoluted that listeners would have to fill in much of the meaning themselves. How, for example, would he bill Mexico for a border fence?
This didn't seem to matter to him. Also, it didn't seem to matter to Trump that he has changed his mind on abortion rights, moving from being "very pro-choice" to "very pro-life." Nor did it matter to him that he had shifted from favoring
universal health care to opposing health-care reform under President Obama. What did matter to him was his own belief in the natural abilities handed down to him by his German and Scottish forbearers.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Never Enough by M. D'Antonio, p.345-6
Bernie Sanders on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 5, 2015)
Comprehensive reform with no border fence & no guest workers
Q: What are Bernie's views on immigration generally?A: Bernie believes America's current immigration system is broken and requires comprehensive reform.
An important aspect of immigration reform, according to Bernie, is to establish some pathway to legal residency or citizenship for the 11 million undocumented workers living in the United States so that they need not work and live in the shadows.
Q: What about the border fence?
A: While he believes that border security is important for the country, Bernie doesn't believe that a fence is the way to achieve that security.
Q: What about guest worker visas?
A: Bernie believes that our visa system must protect American jobs instead of simply allowing corporations to score cheap labor via temporary work visas.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Bernie Sanders on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 5, 2015)
Secure borders without building a fence
Bernie says that we are a "nation of immigrants. That is, in fact, the strength of America." He believes the US must create an immigration system that invites greater innovation, diversity, and economic opportunity for both American-born citizens and the
people who want to make this land their home. Bernie supports immigration reform that will address the legal status of the 11 million undocumented people in our country, protect American jobs by way of visa reform, secure the border, and protect
undocumented workers from labor exploitation.- Border Security: We can and must secure borders without building a fence.
- We ought to provide a path to citizenship for people from many different countries.
- DREAM Act: Supports the path toward
permanent residency for young, undocumented immigrants.
- Visa Reform: Reject the exploitation of workers and the use of visas for cheap, foreign labor. Increase opportunities for qualified individuals to take steps towards permanent residency.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Aug 6, 2015)
We need wall on Mexican border, but ok to have a door in it
Q: You say that the Mexican government is sending criminals--rapists, drug dealers--across the border. TRUMP: If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be talking about illegal immigration.
This was not a subject that was on anybody's mind until I brought it up at my announcement.
The fact is, since then, many killings, murders, crime, drugs are pouring across the border, our money going out and the drugs coming in. And I said we need to build a wall, and it has to be built quickly.
And I don't mind having a big beautiful door in that wall so that people can come into this country legally. But we need to build a wall, we need to keep illegals out.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Free Trade Jun 16, 2015)
35% import tax on Mexican border
Ford announces a few weeks ago that Ford is going to build a $2.5 billion car and truck and parts manufacturing plant in Mexico. I would call up the head of Ford, if I was president, I'd say, "Congratulations. I understand that you're building a nice
$2.5 billion car factory in Mexico and that you're going to take your cars and sell them to the US zero tax, just flow them across the border."And you say to yourself, "How does that help us? Where is that good"? It's not. So I would say, "Let me give
you the bad news. Every car and every part manufactured in this plant that comes across the border, we're going to charge you a 35% tax, and that tax is going to be paid simultaneously with the transaction.
Now, if it's not me in the position, here's
what's going to happen: They're going to get a call from the donors or from the lobbyist for Ford and say, "I take care of you, and you can't do that to Ford."
I'm using my own money. I'm not using the lobbyists. I'm not using donors. I don't care.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2015 announcement speeches of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jun 16, 2015)
Half of the undocumented residents in America are criminals
What does Donald Trump believe? Immigration: No path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Allow more European immigration and a legal status to those graduating from U.S. colleges.
In his January speech to the Iowa Freedom Summit, Trump called for securing the southern border and indicated that he believes half of the undocumented residents in America are criminals.
In 2013 at CPAC, the businessman said Republicans should block any path to citizenship or voting status for undocumented immigrants but should expand legal immigration from Europe.
In addition, Trump would give a legal status to foreign students who complete a degree at an American university.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jun 16, 2015)
Build great wall on southern border; have Mexico pay for it
I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively,
I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2015 announcement speeches of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Apr 12, 2015)
Legal status for 11 million illegals after we secure border
Q: You have said that the 11 million immigrants in this country already here should have some legal status and pay taxes. You want to find some sort of legal status for them?
PAUL: What I want to do first is secure the border. If we secure the border and we can say who is coming, who is going, and only people come, come legally, the 11 million that are here, I think there could be a work status for them.
And I think what I have tried to say is, what we want is more legal immigration, so we have less illegal immigration. But I am open to immigration reform.
I voted against the bill that came forward, though, primarily because it limited the number of legal work visas.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 coverage:2016 presidential hopefuls
Ted Cruz on Mexican Border:
(Corporations Jan 24, 2015)
Get senseless obstacles from Washington out of the way
Senator Cruz promised to champion jobs and economic opportunity and get "senseless obstacles from Washington out of the way." He called for repealing President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act and abolishing the
Internal Revenue Service, joking he would enforce security on the nation's southern border by sending all 110,000 IRS employees there.
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: Des Moines Register on 2015 Iowa Freedom Summit
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Nov 20, 2014)
Common sense executive action: Deport felons, not families
The President's Immigration Accountability Executive Actions will help secure the border, hold nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants accountable, and ensure that everyone plays by the same rules. These executive actions crack down on illegal
immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay their fair share of taxes as they register to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of
deportation. These are common sense steps, but only Congress can finish the job. The President will continue to work with Congress on a comprehensive, bipartisan bill--like the one passed by the Senate more than a year ago--that can replace these
actions and fix the whole system.Three critical elements of the President's executive actions are:- Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration at the Border
- Deporting Felons, Not Families
- Accountability--Criminal Background Checks and Taxes
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: White House press release, "Immigration Accountability"
Ted Cruz on Mexican Border:
(Government Reform Mar 7, 2014)
Rein in judicial activism
Cruz's USA Today Op-ed 10 priorities which he feels the Republicans must tackled if/ when they take control of the U.S. Senate in 2015.-
Embrace a big pro-jobs, growth agenda
- Pursue all means possible to repeal Obamacare.
- Secure the border and stop illegal amnesty
-
Hold government accountable and rein in judicial activism
- Stop the culture of corruption
- Pass fundamental tax reform, making taxes flatter, simpler and fairer
- Audit the Federal Reserve
-
Pass a strong balanced budget amendment
- Repeal Common Core
- Deal seriously with the twin threats of ISIL and a nuclear Iran
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: Cruzing to the White House, by Mario Broes, p. p.169
Rand Paul on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Mar 18, 2013)
Replace de facto amnesty with bipartisan reform
Paul would aim to secure the border before illegal immigrants could begin taking steps toward citizenship, as a necessary first step to get support from conservatives. Congress would also have to agree annually for 5 years that border security was
progressing in order for the other reforms to keep moving forward. In year two of his plan, illegal immigrants would begin to be issued temporary work visas, and would have to wait in line behind those already in the system before moving forward toward
citizenship. A bipartisan panel would determine the number of visas per year. High-tech visas would be expanded and a special visa for entrepreneurs would be issued. Paul would not attempt to crack down on employers by expanding working verification
systems, something he says is tantamount to "forcing businesses to become policemen."
"My plan will not grant amnesty or move anyone to the front of the line," Paul says. "But what we have now is de facto amnesty."
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Associated Press in Los Angeles Times
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 12, 2013)
Comprehensive immigration reform including legal immigration
Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants. And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration
reform.Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the progress my Administration has already made--putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history, and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in
40 years.
Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship--a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks
trying to come here legally.
And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jan 24, 2012)
FactCheck: Fewer border crossings mostly due to economy
In his State of the Union speech, Obama took credit for an unprecedented level of border patrol guards along the Mexican border and added, "there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office."Actually, Obama has increased the Border
Patrol only modestly since it nearly doubled under George W. Bush, when the number grew from 11,264 in 2005 to 20,119 in Oct. 2008. Under Obama, the number went up to 21,444 by 2011. About 85% of those guards are stationed along the southern border.
It's true that arrests for illegal border crossings have decreased since Obama took office--from 556,041 in fiscal 2009 to 340,252 in fiscal 2011. (Those are nationwide figures, although more than 98% of arrests occur along the
Mexican border, according to a Congressional Research Service report.) But immigration experts have said the U.S. economy was the number one reason illegal immigration has slowed.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2012 State of the Union speech
Donald Trump on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Dec 5, 2011)
Triple-layered fence & Predator drones on Mexican border
I am impressed with the success of the double- and triple-layered fence in places like Yuma, Arizona. The wall there is a serious 20-foot wall. It has three walls separated by 75-yard "no man's lands" for border agents to zoom up and down in vehicles.
It also has cameras, radio systems, radar, and pole-topped lights. After the triple-layered fence was installed, the 120-mile stretch of the US-Mexican border known as the Yuma sector experienced a 72 percent plunge in illegal immigrant apprehensions.
We need to be ready to build other kinds of fences, too. The point is that properly built walls work. We just need the political will to finish the job. And by the way, finishing the job will employ a lot of construction workers. Moreover, I call on
Congress and the president to hire another 25,000 border patrol agents and give them the aerial equipment they need, such as Predator drones, to provide real-time aerial reconnaissance information to agents guarding the border wall.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.146-147
Beto O`Rourke on Mexican Border:
(Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
Low price of pot means low crime rate
Once marijuana [is smuggled across the Mexican border] to El Paso, it is valued at $240 a pound. The [raw drugs] are typically transported to stash houses where they are consolidated, repackaged, and shipped to markets nationwide. That's where the real
profits are. Street values of drugs in El Paso are much lower than in larger markets where most of the product transited through Juarez is headed.The El Paso region's role in the drug trade is mostly limited to warehouse and distribution to other
larger, more profitable American markets. This is similar to El Paso's role in the maquilla sector, where goods are manufactured in Juarez then shipped to El Paso for distribution to U.S. markets. The relatively low value of the retail drug trade in
El Paso might be one reason that the murder rate here is so low compared to other, more lucrative destination markets. The average murder rate for [U.S. destination] cities was 16 murders per 100,000 in 2010; in El Paso it was 0.8 per 100,000.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 36-7
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Oct 11, 2011)
Sent unmanned aircraft drones to monitor Mexican border
[The Arizona anti-immigration law] SB1070 was scheduled to become law in 16 hours when a district judge finally announced her last-minute ruling on the lawsuit brought by Obama and the Justice Department: Much of the bill was unconstitutional.
Inside the White House, Obama and his aides conceded that they expected a long battle, predicting that the fate of SB1070 might eventually rest with the Supreme Court. What at first had seemed like a hard-earned immigration victory for
Obama began to look more like a defeat as summer turned to fall. The president tried to appease both conservatives and liberals with immigration policies that instead satisfied nobody. He sent unmanned aircraft drones to
monitor the border and deported record numbers of illegal immigrants. Such attempts to secure the border further enraged Hispanic voters who already felt like Obama had failed them.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Ten Letters, by Eli Saslow, p.162-163
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Nov 15, 2010)
Send 1,200 National Guard troops to southern border
President Obama is not trying to do just enough to create the impression of some activity to address border security. He announced that he will send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, as a temporary measure, until an additional
1,000 Border Patrol agents are on the job. This has generated headlines--and I suppose it is better than the alternative of no additional troops or officers--but it is really a drop in the bucket. Consider that of those 1,200 troops, only
286 were assigned to Texas. The southern border of the United States stretches 1,954 miles, and 1,255 of them are in Texas. We have 60 percent of the border, yet less than 25 percent of the resources were given to
Texas to deal with it. In the face of the soaring violence infesting our border communities as a result of the drug trade, this paltry effort is simply inviting more problems.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.124
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 21, 2008)
Have border patrolled, surveillance, and deploy technology
Q: Do you think your vote on the border fence or the implementation of it was wrong?A: The key is to consult with local communities, whether it’s on the commercial interests or the environmental stakes of creating any kind of barrier. The
Bush administration is not real good at listening. I will reverse that policy. There may be areas where it makes sense to have some fencing. Having border patrolled, surveillance, deploying effective technology, that’s going to be the better approach.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Hillary Clinton on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 21, 2008)
Border fence that cuts off a college campus is absurd
Q: As president, would you commit tonight that you would finish the fence and speed up the construction?A: Both Obama and I voted for that as part of the immigration debate. There is a smart way to protect our borders, and there is a dumb way to
protect our borders. What I learned is that the University of Texas at Brownsville would have part of its campus cut off. This is the kind of absurdity that we’re getting from this administration. I’ve been fighting with them about the northern border.
Their imposition of passports and other kinds of burdens are separating people from families, interfering with business and commerce, the movement of goods and people. So what I’ve said is that I would say, wait a minute, we need to review this.
There may be places where a physical barrier is appropriate. When both of us voted for this, we were voting for the possibility that where it was appropriate and made sense, it would be considered.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Hillary Clinton on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Feb 21, 2008)
Deploy technology & personnel, not a border fence
Q: Do you think your vote on the border fence or the implementation of it was wrong?A: There’s a lot we’ve learned about technology and smart fencing. There is technology that can be used instead of a physical barrier. It requires us having enough
personnel along the border so that people can be supervising a certain limited amount of space and can be responsive in the event of people attempting to cross illegally. The way that the Bush administration is going about this, filing eminent domain
actions against landowners and municipalities, makes no sense. After a careful review, listening to the people who live along the border, there may be limited places where it would work. But let’s deploy more technology and personnel, instead of the
physical barrier. That will work better and will give us an opportunity to secure our borders without interfering with family relations, business relations, recreation and so much else that makes living along the border wonderful.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Joe Biden on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Nov 11, 2007)
Supported Bush plan: both border fence & path to citizenship
Biden supports the Bush immigration plan, with both its “amnesty” for existing undocumented residents and its big border fence to keep new ones out.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p.180
Mike Gravel on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 9, 2007)
Embarrassed at building a wall on southern border
I am embarrassed at the thought of building a wall on the southern border. Embarrassed. I just recently went to Canada. I went into Canada, it took me three seconds. Coming out took two hours. Two hours in line to get back into our country.
Something is wrong. We need to stop scapegoating people. People come here because they want to feed their families because they’re starving in other locations. We need a foreign policy that addresses the entire Western Hemisphere in this regard.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on Univision in Spanish
Hillary Clinton on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 9, 2007)
More border patrolling on both Mexican AND Canadian borders
Q: None of the 9/11 terrorists entered the US through the Mexican border. Why build a wall there in the name of national security? You voted in favor of the border wall. Why on the Mexican border and not on the Canadian border?A: I do favor much more
border patrolling and much more technology on both of our borders, and in certain areas, even a physical barrier, because I think we’ve got to secure our borders. That has to be part of comprehensive immigration reform. I have championed comprehensive
immigration reform, and it includes starting with securing our borders in order to give people the support they need to come over and support us when it comes to having a pathway to legalization. We all know that this has become a contentious political
issue. We want to work in a bipartisan way to have comprehensive reform--employer verification, more help for local communities so that they can pay for schooling and hospital and other expenses that they have to bear because of the immigration crisis.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on Univision in Spanish
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 9, 2007)
Reform must include more border security, and border wall
Q: None of the 9/11 terrorists entered the US through the Mexican border. Why build a wall there in the name of national security? I would like to mention that Senator Obama, Clinton and Dodd voted in favor of the wall.OBAMA:
I have been a consistent champion of comprehensive immigration reform. And keep in mind that my father came to this country from a small village in Africa because he was looking for opportunity. And so when I see people who are coming across these
borders, whether legally or illegally, I know that the motivation is trying to create a better life for their children and their grandchildren. So I was one of the leaders, along with several other senators, in passing comprehensive immigration reform.
It failed in the House. That is going to involve some elements of border security because we’ve got to make our borders more secure. We can’t just have hundreds of thousands of people coming into the country without knowing who they are.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on Univision in Spanish
Mike Gravel on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Sep 6, 2007)
I’m ashamed that we’re building a fence on southern border
I’m ashamed, as an American, to be building a fence on our southern border.
That’s not the America that I fought for.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College
Barack Obama on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jun 3, 2007)
Do a better job patrolling the Canadian and Mexican borders
We should certainly do a better job patrolling the borders in Canada. This recent case with the young lawyer who had tuberculosis being waved through by a border guard because, he said, he looked okay is a problem. We’ve got to strengthen our border
patrols on both sides. We are a country of immigrants. We’re also a country of laws. And the question is, how do we balance that appropriately? I am hopeful that we can solve this problem constructively.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Joe Biden on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Jun 3, 2007)
Voted for border fence, but to tackle drug trafficking
I voted for the [Mexican border] fence was that was the only alternative that was there, and I voted for the fence related to drugs. You can -- a fence will stop 20 kilos of cocaine coming through that fence. It will not stop someone climbing over it or
around it. But this bill has a much more reasonable provision in it. It has much shorter fence, it does have the Border Patrol requirement, and it is designed not just to deal with illegals; it’s designed -- a serious drug trafficking problem we have.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Amy Klobuchar on Mexican Border:
(Immigration Oct 30, 2006)
No amnesty for companies hiring illegal immigrants
Q: What should we do on our southern border?KLOBUCHAR: I believe we need to have order. We need to have adequate border controls, the fence, and no amnesty for companies hiring illegal immigrants; as well as earned citizenship for people who have been
here, have paid their taxes, that are willing to learn English and become part of our community.
KENNEDY: Ms. Klobuchar came out first for a bill that had nothing in there for a fence. I [didn’t agree with that bill] that we should give a veto right to
Mexico to control our border.
KLOBUCHAR: For 6 years, this Congressman and this Congress had the ability to do something about immigration. We need comprehensive immigration reform. It hasn’t happened. The Fargo Forum debunked his claims on my stands
on immigration, and said they were distorted and not true.
FITZGERALD: I do not support a fence on our southern border. You show me a 50-foot fence, I’ll show you someone with a 51-foot ladder.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Minnesota 2006 3-way Senate Debate, sponsored by LWV
Ken Salazar on Mexican Border:
(War & Peace Aug 3, 2004)
NATO needs to be a bigger part in US war policy
The important thing is how we move forward in Iraq. We need to bring in NATO to a much higher degree. Perhaps have them secure the border.
Click for Ken Salazar on other issues.
Source: Channel 9 News
Page last updated: Mar 01, 2022
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