Julian Castro’s Immigration Policy

Posted on July 1, 2019 by SouthernGirl2

As Donald Trump threatens to “close” the US-Mexico border, one of the Democrats seeking to run against him in 2020 is coming out with the primary’s first immigration proposal — one that would dramatically reduce immigration enforcement.

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio and secretary of housing and urban development, released an immigration platform on Tuesday morning, along with a Medium post outlining what the Castro campaign calls its “People First” immigration policy.

So far, the many Democrats vying for the 2020 presidential nomination have stayed in pretty safe territory on immigration, promising to support bills that would provide a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants living in the US — and especially groups that are at risk of losing legal protections under the Trump administration, like immigrants protected from deportation under the DACA, Temporary Protected Status, and Deferred Enforced Departure programs.

Castro’s proposal promises those things, as well as reversals of signature Trump policies like the travel ban and the reduction in refugee resettlement. But it goes much further than that in dismantling immigration enforcement.

In many ways, it seeks to unravel the post-9/11 immigration enforcement system — which has made it legally riskier than ever to live in the US as an unauthorized immigrant.

Most notably, Castro proposes to repeal the provision of US law that makes “illegal entry” into the US a federal crime, which has been on the books since 1929 but has only been routinely enforced in the 21st century. Prosecuting illegal entry — often referred to by “1325,” the relevant section of Chapter 8 of the US Code — gave the Trump administration the power to separate thousands of families in 2018, by referring parents for criminal prosecution.

“The fact that over the last several years this system has been weaponized by the Trump administration to go after immigrants, and the chaos that has been created under 1325, I believe, is the wrong direction for the country,” Castro told Vox. And his response — “to go the opposite way” — is to undo the legal underpinning that made it possible.

That proposal, and others, would require Congress to pass an immigration bill — something that Castro remains optimistic there’s bipartisan appetite for in Congress, but has said elsewhere wouldn’t be his first legislative priority. Unlike other plans 2020 candidates have released on other issues, however, much of the immigration policy Castro addresses is about what to do with existing executive branch resources and authorities — it’s policy, in other words, that Castro or another Democrat could start to change on day one.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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73 Responses to Julian Castro’s Immigration Policy

  18. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 1, 2019 at 8:22 pm

    Ocasio-Cortez visits border facility: ‘I was not safe’

    Reply
  22. rikyrah says:
    July 1, 2019 at 6:17 pm

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) Tweeted:
    What’s haunting is that the women I met with today told me in no uncertain terms that they would experience retribution for telling us what they shared.

    They all began sobbing – out of fear of being punished, out of sickness, out of desperation, lack of sleep, trauma, despair. https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1145801283191955464?s=17

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    July 1, 2019 at 5:59 pm

    Heather Timmons (@HeathaT) Tweeted:
    Anna, the “Homeland Security reporter” for the right-wing Washington Examiner, is a former spokesperson for FAIR, an anti-immigration group. (She’s a favorite go-to leak for Stephen Miller and his go-betweens) https://t.co/iUCCCymsEd https://twitter.com/HeathaT/status/1145806137662562306?s=17

    Reply
  27. rikyrah says:
    July 1, 2019 at 5:19 pm

    Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) Tweeted:
    DHS has internal rules for handling this kind of employee performance & should swiftly discipline & remove them. This news, on the heels of news an IG report about bad conditions in kids’ camps was ignored, shows an out of control agency, needing oversight https://t.co/KFIdlUTQZ8 https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1145804890150723585?s=17

    Reply
  28. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 1, 2019 at 5:19 pm

    Y’all are abusing little kids, making folks drink toilet water, making people wait 15 days for a shower, making jokes about immigrants dying. STFU! You barbaric animals need to taken to The Hague for crimes against humanity.

    https://twitter.com/CBP/status/1145716694536658945

    Reply
  31. rikyrah says:
    July 1, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) Tweeted:
    SCOOP: Border Patrol trying to redirect attention from the fact that they told a woman to drink out of a toilet https://t.co/N2G2nZWhb6 https://twitter.com/JessicaValenti/status/1145792865953599489?s=17

    Reply
  33. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 1, 2019 at 4:30 pm

    15 days without a shower? Oh my sweet Jesus! #TrumpConcentrationCamps need to be shut down immediately. Crimes against humanity.

    https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1145802564098777090

    Reply
  36. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 1, 2019 at 3:50 pm

    Someone need to scream at these sadistic mofos for torturing children, making them drink toilet water. Fugg them and the horse they rode in on.

    https://twitter.com/BreakingNLive/status/1145788445824102400

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    July 1, 2019 at 3:36 pm

    If you don’t think you can draw a direct line from the fascists (like Proud Boys) who harass others & march in the streets to the monsters who are torturing helpless children in government run concentration camps, you’re kidding yourself.— Avi Bueno (@Avi_Bueno) June 30, 2019

    Reply
  56. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 1, 2019 at 11:18 am

    Savage beasts. Take all involved to the Hague for crimes against humanity.

    https://twitter.com/CBP/status/1145171374085984261

    Reply
  68. Ametia says:
    July 1, 2019 at 9:43 am

    Come on with it, now!

    Reply

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