The leading Democratic candidate in this year’s unexpectedly closest Senate race recently announced support for granting citizenship and voting rights to the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
Speaking at Candidate Forum in Bladensburg, Maryland, Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. David Tron, who represents the state’s 6th Congressional District, argued that illegal immigrants should have the same rights as U.S. citizens under the Constitution.
“We need to welcome all 12 million DACA, TPS, illegal immigrants who are here right now. Let’s make them citizens and move them forward. They deserve all the rights that everyone here should have. ,” Tron said, referring to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). ), also known as “Dreamers,” include people brought to the United States as children by illegal immigrant parents and immigrants granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
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Two men scale a fence at the U.S. southern border near El Paso, Texas, on March 15, 2024, with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rep. David Tron of Maryland. (Getty Images)
A few days after the forum, Tron voted against the bipartisan Laken Riley Act. This bill is named after a nursing student who was tragically murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. The suspect in the murder, Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was arrested in New York before the murder, but was not taken into ICE custody. He was also charged with misdemeanor shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023.
The bill requires: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Arresting illegal immigrants who commit crimes such as theft, burglary, theft, or shoplifting, and having them removed from the United States so that those who commit such crimes cannot violate the same laws or commit further crimes. Mandatory detention until.
Additionally, the bill would ensure that states have the right to bring civil lawsuits against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration laws or violate them. The bill passed the House by a vote of 251-170, and the Senate is currently considering it.
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On February 22, nursing student Laken Riley was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. She was charged with murdering an illegal immigrant. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
Last month, Tron wrote a letter to impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling for the closure of illegal immigrant detention centers, just one day after an infant was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant just outside the District. The Daily Caller reported that he has signed.
“Our immigration system is broken. Unfortunately, due to the extreme opposition of MAGA Republicans, aggressive immigration reform is unlikely this Congress. Until that changes, we will continue to treat immigrants with dignity.” We must do our best to operate within the current system to be treated with dignity.” You testified about concerns about the “overuse of detention…that alternatives to detention are sufficient.” We share that concern,” Tron wrote in the letter.
FOX News Digital has reached out to Tron’s campaign for comment.
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Congressman David Trone during a roundtable discussion on December 9, 2023 in Rockville, Maryland. (Graham Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trone faces a crowded Democratic primary in which he holds a huge lead in fundraising and polling. His closest challenger is Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
He is likely to face Republican former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in the general election. Few polls have been conducted on the election so far, but those that have been completed suggest it is a close race.
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Election analysts rate the race as “likely” for Democrats, but Hogan’s name recognition and high approval ratings at the end of his second term last year mean he could maintain the Senate majority. That could pose a further challenge to Democratic hopes.
FOX News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
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