On Friday’s broadcast of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” Rep. Al Green (D-TX) stated that there is a “humanitarian crisis” at the border, and that one part of solving the problem should be “aid to the countries that, for a long time, became a source of cheap labor for us.” Green added that “we have to atone for our transgressions.”
Green said, “I do confess that, at the border, we have a humanitarian crisis. I’ve said this for many years now. I do believe that the children who are coming are children who cannot be turned away. I would not want my child turned away if I were in similar circumstances, in dire straits. I think that comprehensive immigration reform is still the solution. I don’t think you can take a piece of it and solve the problem, just construct a wall. We find that people get around and they get over walls. But I do think that it will include making sure that we do something about the people who are already here, we don’t want third-class citizens in this country. We want people to be responsible and those who’ve been here, they’ve been responsible, have abided by our laws, perhaps they can be given some consideration, a pathway to citizenship. I would support that.”
He continued, “I do believe that we have to do something to make sure that the border is secure. I’m not an open borders guy. I think the border should be secure. I think there are ways to do it and also to do it in tandem with some aid to the countries that, for a long time, became a source of cheap labor for us. We have a scarred, stained history when it comes to labor in this country. … We have to do something about that. Because it’s the decent thing to do, given that we had a hand in the circumstances that they have to endure currently. Things don’t last for a moment, when you abuse people, that abuse lasts for decades and years. And at some point, it comes back to haunt you, and that’s what we’re experiencing now, some of the things that have been perpetrated by us. I love my country, but I speak truth to power, I’m a liberated Democrat, and we have to atone for our transgressions.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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