Julian Castro has emerged as a champion for illegals, advocating that they should receive free healthcare and that crossing the border illegally should be decriminalized.
However, in a recent interview, Castro was forced to confront his past, when he praised then President Obama for adding more boots on the ground at the border to remove dangerous individuals.
WATCH:
From DailyCaller
Julian Castro Is ‘Hypercritical’ Of Trump Immigration Policies He Once Praised Under Obama
Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro, a fervent opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, was called out for his past praise of former President Barack Obama’s immigration enforcement policies.
“I want to ask you about immigration which you have made a part of your campaign focus,” said “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan Sunday. “When you were mayor of San Antonio, you testified before Congress and you called for increased border security measures and you praised the Obama administration’s actions.”
Brennan then played a clip of Castro speaking before a congressional hearing in February 2013. In the clip, then-San Antonio Mayor Castro is seen lauding the Obama administration’s success at removing “dangerous individuals” after beefing up security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“In Texas, we know firsthand that this administration has put more boots on the ground along the border than at any other time in our history which has led to unprecedented success in removing dangerous individuals with criminal records,” he said during a 2013 House Judiciary committee hearing.
“Why did you praise that policy then but when the Trump administration adopt similar language and policies you’re hypercritical of them?” Brennan asked.
Castro, who went on to serve as secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama administration, maintained that his position has not changed, and that he’s always been in favor of removing criminal illegal aliens from the U.S.
“I talked about people who committed serious crimes, dangerous criminals. I haven’t changed at all. If there are people who have committed serious felonies in the United States who are immigrants or who come to the border … they should be deported,” he said in response.
Castro has stood out among the other Democratic presidential candidates for his extreme positions on immigration.
During the second Democratic debate in June, every candidate on stage raised their hand in support of providing government-funded health care to illegal immigrants. Most of the candidates, including Castro, raised their in support of decriminalizing illegal immigration itself. Castro blamed President Donald Trump’s metering policy on the deaths of a father and daughter who attempted to swim across the Rio Grande river.
The former HUD secretary also called for the removal of the law that makes it a felony to re-enter the country illegally more than once. He even supported legislation that eliminates the words “alien” and “illegal alien” from the federal government’s legal code.
By Kambree Nelson
Source: theconservativeopinion
See more here: news365.stream
