Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA) took on host Laura Ingraham on the issue of the legal status of the so-called DREAMers — children brought to the United States illegally.
Taylor insisted giving legal status to the DREAMERs through DACA was not “amnesty.”
Transcript as follows:
INGRAHAM: Above all else President Trump was elected on one clear issue, stop illegal immigrant. And that would mean build the wall, no amnesty, you know the drill. But there are some Republicans in Congress including the guy right here who still believes that the DACA amnesty thing is a winning idea. And one of them of course is here to defend that, and that’s Scott Taylor from the second district of Virginia.
Congressman it’s great to see you, first of all. Great to have you here. You wrote a letter to Paul Ryan and 34 of your fellow congressmen signed it. And in this letter you say it’s an important agenda item now to give these 800,000 people brought here as young people amnesty. Why is that, of all the things we have to deal with in our country, why are you so obsessed with catering to the needs of illegal immigrants?
REP. SCOTT TAYLOR, (R) VIRGINIA: Thank you for having me. Of course congratulations on your show. You used two words that I completely take issue with. Number one is amnesty, right. But let me preface this by saying I was at the White House a couple days ago. And my personal position, now I can’t speak for everybody that’s on the letter because there’s different opinions and stuff like that and where they want to be with this. But for me personally I am with the president. I think what President Obama did was illegal. I think it’s under Congressional purview. And him pushing it down there, I agree with that 100 percent. I supported more money over a decade for Homeland, $1.5 billion in appropriations for the wall.
INGRAHAM: That’s what the gang of eight is saying —
TAYLOR: I don’t care about that. But for that, Kate’s law and all of those things, I think we should get more security. I think we should get e-verify. I think we should have a program for —
INGRAHAM: Are you against chain migration?
TAYLOR: Yes.
INGRAHAM: Are you for the RAISE act?
TAYLOR: Yes, I actually am.
INGRAHAM: Then why are you —
TAYLOR: Let me finish.
INGRAHAM: I’m trying to understand why are —
TAYLOR: I know but you’re not letting me finish. I’m not obsessed. That’s what I am saying. Let me finish what I’m saying. I am for all those things. I think we should move towards merit. I think we should have a program for unaccompanied minors to get them back safely over back to their parents. That should be in conjunction with dealing with this population.
Amnesty by definition, as you very well know, is forgiveness for people who have offended.
INGRAHAM: That’s Chuck Schumer’s line.
TAYLOR: I am not Chuck Schumer. Don’t put me in that position, please.
INGRAHAM: But Scott, ALIPAC is against you. Why?
TAYLOR: I don’t even know who ALIPAC is.
INGRAHAM: ALIPAC is the organization that is for legal immigration. They put you on the top of their list as the Republican that is most pushing the amnesty for the DACA recipients without real strings attached.
TAYLOR: That’s complete crap. That is complete — let me finish.
INGRAHAM: I know you want to throw more money at border security.
TAYLOR: No, no, no. That is complete crap. I am not for the DREAM act. I’m not for that. I am for a standalone thing that gets more security and more disincentives for illegal immigration in conjunction with dealing with this population. Let me say something. You have these groups out there who are pushing that who raise money, who have hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries for the people like Numbers USA and these other organizations that raise money off Republican donors to attack other Republicans. I am not for that. I’m not for that position. In fact, like I said, I was with the White House, and you’re going to hear —
INGRAHAM: You called President Trump’s rhetoric divisive and you blamed in party him for blowing the Virginia race, did you not on CNN. I just watched the clip five minutes ago.
TAYLOR: I will absolutely say to you as I did before —
INGRAHAM: Virginia now is a blue state.
TAYLOR: I don’t agree with you.
INGRAHAM: Oh, really? Northern Virginia, expanded government, demographic changes?
TAYLOR: Do you want me to answer your questions or are you going to keep stepping on me? I do not think that Virginia is a perpetual blue state. I think it is there. I think if we’re going to say that Bob McDonnell’s election in 2009 was a referendum on Obama’s policy, which I agree, we have to be intellectually honest. And certainly the national scene contributes to the rise in Democrat turnout all across, that’s true.
INGRAHAM: Ed Gillespie was a New Jersey guy who was a Bush guy. He tried to do the latter day populism. It didn’t work. He ran before, it didn’t work.
TAYLOR: He’s not Trump, there’s no question about that.
INGRAHAM: But you still think President Trump is divisive?
TAYLOR: Yes, sure. I think the polls show that. I support the president.
INGRAHAM: For the wall.
TAYLOR: I support the president and I support more money for the wall. You’ve been saying you support the president for many segments, however, his position is like mine on immigration. It’s the same.
INGRAHAM: We’re running out of time. American people before the illegal immigrants and you’ll win your next —
TAYLOR: I am pro American. I’m an American dreamer.
INGRAHAM: Stay with us. We’ll all dreamers first.
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