On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) argued that “oftentimes, the Biden administration was trying to follow the law, because people have a right” to apply for asylum. “And so, they were trying to follow the law.” But the border and immigration are thorny “And the Republican Party spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince Americans that every undocumented immigrant, even kids with cancer, are potential serial killers. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to do that. And so, of course, it’s a thorny issue.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Why do you think your party is still so unpopular, and especially on this issue of immigration? President Trump remains polling okay, not as well as he was before, on this issue. It’s still one of his better issues, though.”
Castro answered, “Well, look, as a political party, I think when you lose the presidency, when you lose the Senate, when you lose the House, there is obviously an issue with message and what you’re communicating to the American people. And I think that the Democratic Party, obviously, has to talk to the American people about what we stand for, the fact that we’re trying to build opportunity in this country for everyone. But, at the same time, that doesn’t absolve Donald Trump of all of his incredible failures and the damage that he’s bringing upon the country right now.”
Tapper followed up, “But wasn’t one of the failures of the Biden presidency, one of the — at least according to the American people, according to polling — what was described as an open border policy, the fact that he wasn’t particularly enforcing of the border and that his policies when it came to immigration seemed all over the map. Isn’t one of the reasons you’re out of power because the American people ultimately judged that they wanted a more conservative immigration policy?”
Castro responded, “Well, there’s no doubt that the border — that there were more folks over the last several years that were coming up to the U.S.-Mexico border, that, oftentimes, the Biden administration was trying to follow the law, because people have a right, — whether it’s the United States or another country — people have the right to apply for asylum. And so, they were trying to follow the law. But also, Jake, as you know, the border and immigration in this country, especially in places like Texas, my home state, those are some of the thorniest issues in American politics. And the Republican Party spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince Americans that every undocumented immigrant, even kids with cancer, are potential serial killers. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to do that. And so, of course, it’s a thorny issue.”
Castro added that numbers at the border have fallen, “And during the Biden administration, particularly the latter part of the Biden administration, and continuing during the Trump administration, the United States has worked with Mexico and other partner nations to stem that tide of folks who are applying for asylum. I will say this, there is an effect of out of sight, out of mind. But there is a lot of, still, economic oppression, a lot of danger in those countries. And, at some point, unless you really try to solve those things and work with those countries on solving those things, this is always going to be a challenge for the United States.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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