No Friend of Immigrants
Democratic presidents have been responsible for some of the most punitive immigration policies in modern history.
A Texas Army National Guard conducts operations at the Texas-Mexico border in 2014.Texas Military Department / Flickr
In 2014, journalist Christiane Amanpour sat down for a town hall interview with Hillary Clinton. Amanpour asked Clinton what the US should do about the thousands of undocumented, unaccompanied minors who were crossing the southern US border at the time.
Clearly uncomfortable, Clinton demurred. Amanpour persisted, asking point blank: “Should they be sent back?” After some additional dissembling, Clinton responded: “[W]e have to send a clear message. Just because your child gets across the border, that doesn’t mean the child gets to stay.”
However callous, Clinton’s answer wasn’t necessarily surprising. While such harsh stances often call to mind openly anti-immigrant Republicans like Donald Trump, the Democratic Party’s record on immigration issues is far from progressive.
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