Appearing on MSNBC Tuesday, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said the U.S.-Mexico border is “as secure as it ever has been” and called again for abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Host Stephanie Ruhle said to Castro, “Let’s talk about ICE. The president will have members of ICE working overtime next week, as he is calling for raids looking to deport thousands of undocumented immigrants. If elected, you are calling for the breakup of ICE.”
“If ICE were to be broken up, how would you deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants already here and those who are crossing the border, the thousands who are crossing the border?” she asked Castro.
“As you know, I was the first 2020 candidate to release a comprehensive immigration plan, and I have a completely different vision for how we’re going to do this than this president,” Castro began. “I think what people on different sides of the aisle can acknowledge is that this president has failed. He came in saying that he was going to take care of this ‘immigration problem,’ and he hasn’t.”
As Castro went on, Ruhle interjected, “So, what would you do?”
That’s when things got interesting.
“What I would do is, number one,” Castro said, “I would make sure that we maintain border security, and I believe that our border is as secure as it ever has been” (emphasis added).
Yes, he actually said that. And he didn’t stop there.
Castro doubles down on border being secure
“I would ensure that we maintain it,” Castro added. “But secondly, I would treat people with compassion and common sense and not with cruelty. I would make sure that we don’t separate families, that we don’t put people in cages, that we treat them like human beings.”
“I would also get to the root of the problem,” Castro insisted.
The ROOT of the problem, Mr. Castro, is that our border system is completely broken with countless illegal immigrants entering the country every day. Whether one is for more or less immigration, most can agree it should be done legally which must include a border that is secure.
Right now, it’s not. Get a clue, Julian Castro.