Julián Castro on Wednesday night criticized former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. over his record, using a question on immigration during the Democratic debate to mount an attack that others in the race have used to great success.
Mr. Biden’s four-plus decades in office have been ripe for criticism during the Democratic primary contest. Senator Kamala Harris of California took aim at his record on busing during a debate in June, and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has repeatedly gone after his record on criminal justice.
Mr. Castro, the former housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio, used a back-and-forth on immigration on Wednesday to go on the attack, saying, “It looks like one of us has learned from the lessons of the past and one of us hasn’t.”
Here’s the full transcript:
Biden: I found that Julián, excuse me, the secretary, we sat together in many meetings, I never heard him talk about any of this when he was the secretary. The fact is, what the senator from New York talked about is seeking asylum. The women she spoke to are entitled to asylum. That is not crossing the border illegally. What we should do is flood the zone to make sure that we have people to make those decisions quickly.
A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know.
With regard to the secretary’s point, I already proposed and passed $750 million for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to be able to change the circumstance of why people fled in the first place. In addition to that, we’re in a circumstance where if in fact you say you can just cross the border, what do you say to all of those people around the world who in fact want the want the same thing to come to the United States and make their case, that they have to wait in line. The fact of the matter is, you should be able to, if you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It’s a crime. It’s a crime and it’s not one that in fact —
Castro: First of all, Mr. Vice President, it looks like one of us has learned from the lessons of the past and one of us hasn’t. Let me begin by telling you — let me just start out by answering that question. My immigration plan would also fix the broken legal immigration system, because we do have a problem with that. Secondly, the only way that we’re going to guarantee that these kinds of family separations don’t happen in the future is that we need to repeal this law. There’s still going to be consequences if somebody crosses the border. It’s a civil action. Also, we have 654 miles of fencing. We have thousands of personnel at the border. We have planes, we have boats, we have helicopters, we have security cameras. What we need are politicians that actually have some guts on this issue.
Biden: I have guts enough to say his plan doesn’t make sense. Here’s the deal: The fact of the matter is, that in fact when people cross the border illegally, it is illegal to do it unless they’re seeking asylum. People should have to get in line. That’s the problem. And the only reason this particular part of the law is being abused is because of Donald Trump. We should defeat Donald Trump and end this practice.
For more information, go to: http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment