New York Times
By Maggie Haberman
July 30, 2015
Senator
Bernie Sanders addressed the hot-button topic of immigration for the
second day in a row on Thursday, saying at a Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce event that lower
wages were tethered to an influx of immigrants.
Mr.
Sanders, the Vermont independent who is seeking the Democratic
presidential nomination, repeated the tenor of comments he made in an
interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein
that was released on Monday about how wage stagnation was linked to a
porous immigration policy.
At
the Chamber of Commerce event in Washington, Mr. Sanders said in
response to a reporter’s question, “You’ve got to be careful about
defining the word, ‘immigrants.’”
The
question is whether there should be “a completely open border, so that
anybody can come into the United States of America,” the senator said.
“If that were to happen,
which I strongly disagree with, there is no question in my mind that
that would substantially lower wages in this country.”
Mr.
Sanders voted against an immigration overhaul bill in 2007. Since then,
the issue has gained support among Democrats, who see Hispanics as a
fast-growing voting bloc
and a key part of President Obama’s coalition. The topic is one of the
few areas where Democrats can position themselves to Mr. Sanders’s left.
“I
don’t think there’s any presidential candidate, none, who thinks we
should open up the borders,” Mr. Sanders said, adding that the
percentages of black and Hispanic
people searching for work would only become worse in that case.
Mr.
Sanders told another reporter that an increase in worker visas, an
issue in the most recent efforts at comprehensive change in the
immigration system, was not necessary
to revamp the nation’s policies. Mr. Sanders favors a pathway to
citizenship for illegal immigrants who are currently in the country.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment