Julián Castro, former San Antonio mayor, is the first of the party’s presidential candidates to offer an immigration plan.
By Michael Scherer Michael Scherer National political reporter covering campaigns, Congress and the White House Email Bio Follow April 2 at 6:00 AM Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro offered a far-reaching plan to remake the nation’s immigration policy Tuesday with a new call to end criminal penalties for migrants entering the country without permission and a plan to remove detention as a tool for most immigration enforcement.
Democrats have long characterized Trump’s focus on the threat of immigration as both immoral and fanciful, dismissing the president when he declared an “invasion of our country” by migrants during the midterm elections and criticizing him for a “manufactured crisis” when he demanded funding for a new border wall. But the recent spike in asylum-seeking families from Central America crossing the border has changed the calculation.
By repealing the criminal code that allows the Trump administration to prosecute people who enter the country, Castro would remove the mechanism that previously allowed the administration to separate asylum-seeking parents and children after detention. Trump has since stopped those prosecutions, though single adults continue to face criminal penalties.
Another possibility discussed by House leaders is to hold a floor vote later this month on a resolution on whether to close the southern border, in an effort to force Republican border state members to take a position. No decision has been made on whether to go forward with the vote or, if so, when to hold it.
Since then, the 2020 presidential candidates have focused their immigration answers on denouncing Trump’s approach — particularly his plan for a new border wall, his child separation policy and his ban on travelers from certain Muslim-majority countries. Several candidates have also called for more foreign aid for Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to prevent migrants from heading north.
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