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ImmigrationProf Blog
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Biden, Sanders Address Immigration at Democratic Presidential Debate

By immigrationprof

Last night, the two final Democratic presidential candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, debated in the CNN studio in Washington, D.C.   The nation’s coronavirus response dominated the early minutes of the debate.  And Biden’s commitment to add a woman to the ticket closed the debate.  Chris Cillizza for CNN identifies winners and losers.

It was surprising to me that, in light of the fact that the coronavirus dominated the debate, the candidates were asked about immigration.  Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News summarizes the responses of the candidates to the questions on immigration.

Both candidates drew sharp contrasts with President Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, proposing sweeping reversals of current immigration enforcement and asylum policies.

Acknowledging that the Obama administration “took too long” to retool its immigration enforcement priorities, Biden announced that, if elected, he would implement a 100-day freeze on deportations. Biden said his administration would initially institute the temporary moratorium on removals, and then focus on removing undocumented immigrants convicted of felonies from the country. “We can be a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation that is decent,” Biden said.

After the moderators asked about fears some unauthorized and legal immigrants may have about seeking medical care during the coronavirus pandemic due to Mr. Trump’s policies, Sanders proposed ending “raids” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sanders suggested such a move would alleviate fears in immigrant communities.

The candidates’ respective positions on immigration are coming under fire from the right.

 

KJ

Posted in:
Current Affairs