Jul 31, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Castro and de Blasio take Biden to task for Obama's deportations

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio put the pressure on Joe Biden on Wednesday for massive early deportation numbers during the Obama administration — accusing the former vice president of trying to diminish his role.

According to FiveThirtyEight: "During the first few years of his presidency, [President] Obama earned the nickname 'deporter in chief' due to the high numbers of undocumented immigrants deported during his first term. This marked a sharp contrast with the comprehensive immigration reform he had promised on the campaign trail."

What they're saying:

  • De Blasio: "Did you say those deportations were a good idea? Or did you go to the president and say 'this is a mistake, we shouldn't do it,' which one?"
  • Castro: "It looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past, and one of us hasn't. ... My immigration plan would also fix the broken legal immigration system, because we. do have a problem with that — secondly, the only way we're gonna guarantee that these kind of family separations don't happen in the future, is that we need to repeal this law."

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