Castro leans on immigration reform, Hispanic vote in run-up to first Democratic debate
Presidential candidate Julián Castro, in Miami for the first Democratic presidential debate this week, criticized President Donald Trump’s immigration policy on Sunday, accusing the president of using theatrics to generate support and funding for his policies.
“This president creates a crisis of his own making and then tries to be the hero to solve it,” Castro said. “I want to find a solution. I don’t need the circus.”
Castro spoke at the first of three press events designed to generate visibility for his campaign in the lead-up to this Wednesday’s debate.
Castro, former Mayor of San Antonio and secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama, will need to build a strong following to compete against current front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. His strategy is to appeal to Hispanic voters in states including Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.
Addressing a handful of local reporters outside of a conference room at the downtown Miami Marriott hotel, Castro focused primarily on immigration policy. He drew a parallel between President Trump’s call for rounding up immigrants with final orders of deportation, which was delayed the day before the raids were to begin, to last week’s proposed military retaliation against Iran, which Trump called off minutes before the scheduled strike.
“He uses the threat of ICE raids to terrorize immigrant families and to try to gain leverage with Congress as they compose more funding for HHS,” said Castro, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS works with Customs and Border Patrol to care for unaccompanied children at detention centers.
Castro also honed in on the Trump administration’s family separation policy and reports of children in detention facilities sleeping on cold floors with the lights on all night.
“I can’t think of another setting where Americans would tolerate children being treated like this,” he said.
If elected, Castro said he would work to help Venezuelans fleeing turmoil in their home country, but would stop short of military intervention.
“I would extend Temporary Protective Services and put them on the path to citizenship,” Castro said.
Castro’s emphasis on immigration fell in line with his statements at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Presidential Candidate Forum on Friday. At NALEO, Castro emphasized that the United States should be a land of opportunity and equality, and said his grandmother immigrated to the United States as a 7-year-old orphan and never finished school. Just two generations later, Castro is a candidate for president while his brother, Joaquin Castro, serves in the House of Representatives for Texas.
At the NALEO forum, Castro skirted a question about his strategy to change immigration policy in a divided government, responding instead that he believes Democrats will control the House and Senate following the 2020 election. He also voiced concerns about the proposed citizenship question on the next Census, noting that up to 4 million people could be under-counted, which would have a significant impact on federal funding and services in communities with large immigrant populations.
“I have no doubt that if I’m the nominee, that you will see a Hispanic turnout like you’ve never seen before--that it will go through the roof compared to earlier cycles,” said Castro at Sunday’s press conference.
Castro said he hopes to use the upcoming Democratic debates on Wednesday and Thursday to create momentum for his presidential bid.
“My first priority is to introduce myself to voters, to tell them about my vision for the future of our country, and I’m looking forward to a good debate,” he said.
This story was originally published June 23, 2019 at 7:40 PM.