Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday on CBS' “Face the Nation” that the Trump administration's proposed deportations would be an “absolute pain” to the U.S. economy. Ta.
A partial transcription follows:
Margaret Brennan: Let me ask you a question about immigration. He's a former governor. Incoming border czar Tom Homan said large-scale deportations will begin as soon as Trump takes office. According to Pew Research, there are thought to be only about 300,000 undocumented immigrants in your state. And we know that current Governor Yonkin has pledged full support to the effort through state law enforcement and the National Guard. How do you think this will work?
KAINE: Well, we don't know exactly what the administration is going to do. But let me tell you, there are serious concerns from many sectors of Virginia's economy, agriculture, hospitality, health care, and construction that mass deportations would be an absolute blow to Virginia's and America's economies. I'm hearing voices. Add to that President Trump's threat of massive tariffs, forcing mass deportations, which would be a huge pain for consumers and a huge pain for employers. It will be. Look, we have a president who says a lot of things but chooses not to do them. So I don't know exactly how this is going to go.
Brennan: Yeah.
KAINE: But if the president goes ahead with what he says he's going to do, Virginia's economy and this country's economy will be hurt by mass deportations and tariffs.
BRENNAN: Well, the Biden administration is prioritizing rounding up and deporting criminals. The Trump administration has said it will also target criminals. Do you think this will look different?
KANE: Well, I think the Biden administration is prioritizing criminals who pose a threat to public safety, criminals who pose a threat of violence. The Trump administration could be even broader than that. For example, a bill currently being considered in the Senate would deport people based on arrest, even if there was no conviction. It's like a store to release an arrest even if you haven't been convicted of anything. A fundamental aspect of our society is that an arrest means nothing unless there is a conviction. Because people often get arrested for things they didn't do. So, if the Trump administration were to say that arrest leads to deportation even without a conviction, then yes, that would be completely different, it would be completely different than the Biden administration-era policy. Sho.
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