Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said President Donald Trump’s plan for ICE raids and deportations was a “beginning to do worse things to come.”
Partial transcript as follows:
SEN. SANDERS: Yeah. But this is a president who also tweeted out last week that he is prepared, I think, to round up millions, was that the word, millions of undocumented people. And that is so horrific and so un-American that it is unacceptable, and I will do everything I can to stop that. Look you’ve got some 11 million undocumented people in this country. Our job is to pass comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship. Our job is to give immediate legal status to what Trump took away. And that is the DACA program that protects one point eight million young people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Both of those ideas have gone nowhere in past administrations.
SEN. SANDERS: Well, now that’s not true. DACA was implemented by Obama .
MARGARET BRENNAN: But not legislatively.
SEN. SANDERS: Not legislatively but you have- the president should be able to do that. And I think–
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you need a Democratic controlled Senate and House to be able to do that.
SEN. SANDERS: Not necessarily. I think there are- the answer is that would be very helpful, yes. I agree. But I also think that’s what the American people want. The American people do not believe that America is about rounding up men, rounding up millions of people throwing them out of this country. How ugly is that. That’s not what the American people want. They do want comprehensive immigration reform and a president that would provide that support could get Republican leadership on that as well.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But specifically on this point the two thousand that are supposed to be targeted haven’t shown up for a court date so essentially they’re- they’re not following the asylum process. The legal standards when they’re here. So should they be prosecuted should they be deported?
SEN. SANDERS: I don’t- I don’t like this deportation thing at all and I think Trump uses this as a beginning to do worse things to come. Once again. We need also a humane policy at the border for people seeking asylum. We need a lot more judges down there and administrative staff as well. So you’ve got a real problem, but let’s deal with it in a humane and serious way not through a demagogic way. And let me tell you what my view is, Trump thinks that he can win re-election. And this is his political game, it’s not an accident that he announced this the same time he went through his- his announcement that he was seeking reelection.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You think this is purely politically motivated?
SEN. SANDERS: Yeah, I do. And I think that- look it’s not to say that we don’t have a serious problem but there are ways for serious people to deal with serious immigration problems. It is a problem. But what he is doing and this is his entire political strategy is to divide the American people up.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.