On Friday’s CNN Newsroom broadcast, Biden campaign co-chair Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) reacted to Laken Riley’s murder and said any criminal would face the fullest possible prosecution. “When Donald Trump was president, over a million immigrants were released. I think some of the immigrants committed crimes,” she said in another part of the interview. , “It was immigrant workers, immigrant labor that really supported our economy. The challenge we face is that Congress hasn’t created a legal pathway for them.” ”
Mr. Escobar said:[I]It is impossible to deport every illegal alien in this country. We simply don’t have the resources, and it’s not in our favor. Jim, I’m sure you’ve seen reports that it’s immigrant workers, immigrant labor, that have actually sustained our economy. The challenge we face is that Congress has not created a legal pathway for them. Both a manageable immigration system and well-controlled borders are possible, but it will require action from Congress. ”
Host Jim Acosta then said, “But when you have an immigrant who has committed a lot of high-profile crimes, horrible crimes, like what happened in Georgia or what happened in New York, you have to have the president’s side say, Do we need to take action?” he asked. Do you want to start calling out something? If you look at crime in cities where immigrants are being bussed to places like New York, crime actually goes down in those places. However, such high-profile cases do occur. Does the president need to say more about these incidents?”
Mr. Escobar replied: “Everyone, from the president to members of Congress to every American, grieves the death of someone. We need to see justice prevail and criminals prosecuted. But if you… As mentioned, the fact of the matter is that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than mainland-born Americans. And in communities where immigrants became bused, crime decreased. Those who commit such horrific crimes absolutely need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But it’s also true that more than 1 million immigrants were released during President Donald Trump’s time in office. I think some of them did commit crimes. The problem isn’t that immigrants commit crimes. The problem is that we haven’t reformed a system that’s deeply broken, and that we’ve had it for decades. Every year that we’ve tried to do this, Republicans have stood in the way of that. We can still do this, but Republicans need the courage to come to the table and vote.”
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