In debates, Democrats move toward open borders
by Byron York
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“Raise your hand if you think it should be a civil offense, rather than a crime, to cross the border without documentation,” said NBC’s José Díaz-Balart.
All 10 candidates — Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg, Harris, Gillibrand, Bennet, Swalwell, Hickenlooper, Yang, Williamson — raised their hands in approval. That moment was perhaps the Democratic Party’s most significant step yet toward embracing a policy of open borders.
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The Trump team was obviously delighted. But some Democrats were clearly concerned.
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Democrats did not stop with opening the border. On Thursday night, they also unanimously supported a policy of offering healthcare to everyone in the country illegally — thought to be about 11 million people. “Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants,” said NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. All hands went up.
The combination of an open border and increased benefits for those in the country illegally could greatly increase the already-high number of border crossers and the inducement for more to come.
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Castro started something big, and after Wednesday’s and Thursday’s debates, it might be hard for Democrats to turn back.
Pelosi caves, agrees to pass Senate border funding bill after McConnell defeats House version
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Between the endless news about an unprecedented crunch of asylum-seekers; the fact that Congress hadn’t offered DHS any new funding to cope despite reports of poor conditions in some detention facilities; and the reality that the loudest voices in the media from her own caucus are batsh*t open-borders fanatics like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, this is shaping up to be a bad electoral issue for Democrats.
So it was time to make it go away, by whatever means.
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The reason Democrats hold the House majority right now is because a bunch of centrists knocked off a bunch of Republican incumbents last year in purple districts. Those centrists are frightened of perceptions back home that Democrats don’t want to do much of anything to ease the crisis at the border except complain about how immigrants are being treated, and they know how potent Trump’s messaging on this topic can be. In the end, if Pelosi wants to keep her majority, those members need to be protected even if it makes AOC cry.