In 2006, former Vice President Joe Biden told a South Carolina rotary club audience that he proudly voted for the Secure Fence Act – authorizing the construction of 700 miles of fencing at the southern US border.
He also called for a crackdown on companies which hire “illegals,” saying: “I voted for a fence, I voted, unlike most Democrats — and some of you won’t like it — I voted for 700 miles of fence,” adding “But, let me tell you, we can build a fence 40 stories high, unless you change the dynamic in Mexico and — and you will not like this, and — punish American employers who knowingly violate the law when, in fact, they hire illegals. Unless you do those two things, all the rest is window dressing.”
So, 2006 Biden and President Trump agree on immigration policy based on this video unearthed by CNN‘s KFile.
“Now, I know I’m not supposed to say it that bluntly, but they’re the facts, they’re the facts,” said Biden. “And so everything else we do is in between here. Everything else we do is at the margins. And the reason why I add that parenthetically, why I believe the fence is needed, does not have anything to do with immigration as much as drugs. And let me tell you something, folks, people are driving across that border with tons, tons, hear me, tons of everything from byproducts for methamphetamine to cocaine to heroin and it’s all coming up through corrupt Mexico.”
Biden 2020 campaign spokesman Andrew Bates defended the remarks to CNN, noting that Biden said the barrier along the border will not solve the problem of illegal immigration – and called President Trump’s approach to the problem “repugnant” and “contrary to our values as a nation.”
“Vice President Biden believes we have to stop trying to scare people and instead have an immigration discussion based on facts,” said Bates. “He believes that we can secure our borders without abandoning our values, and that we should do that by addressing the root causes of immigration abroad and working toward comprehensive immigration reform at home, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and smart border security.”
As The Hill‘s Jonathan Easley notes, Biden has knocked Trump’s immigration policies, as well as the pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio – a staunch opponent of illegal immigration who was found guilty by the DOJ of racially profiling Latinos.
Biden has been a fierce critic of Trump’s immigration policies.
In a speech to the United Latin American Citizens last year, Biden bashed the administration for its zero-tolerance policy that separated children from their parents at the border.
“Grotesque lies about immigrants and policies that rip babies from their mothers’ arms carry echoes of the darkest moments in our history,” Biden said. “Not only are they a national shame, they tarnish the very idea of America and diminish our standing in the world.”
He also lashed out at the president for pardoning former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had been found guilty in a Justice Department investigation of racially profiling Latinos.
“It doesn’t just reveal itself in the betrayal of the ‘Dreamers,’ or the pardoning of a sheriff who has terrorized this community,” Biden said. “It’s also in the underfunding of our schools, in attacks on labor and the ability of workers to bargain for their worth, and in the neglect of Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, where many children — American children — have lost a year of school due to the devastation.” –The Hill
Despite Biden’s gaffes and openly groping women and children, he’s still the Democratic frontrunner for 2020 according to a recent poll by Monmouth University – which has him in a double-digit lead over Bernie Sanders at 36% vs. 18% of likely Democratic primary voters.
Looks to me like it’s going to be SleepyCreepy Joe over Crazy Bernie. Everyone else is fading fast!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019
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