2018 NY Senate race: on Immigration


Chele Farley: Central American refugees are an invasion, not a caravan

The candidates clashed on immigration, whether ICE should be abolished, and the massive migrant caravan moving slowly through Mexico. "People are calling it a caravan, I call it an invasion," Farley said. "We can't allow open borders."

"I do not support open borders, and neither do Democrats," Gillibrand countered. "What we have in this country is an immigration crisis. You have people in this caravan to seek asylum in this country. Immigration has always been a strength in this country. We are a country founded by immigrants. So we need to fix our broken immigration system. Separating children from their parents at the border is immoral, that's what this president has done."

"This is an act of terrorism," Farley responded. "It's got to stop. But my opponent, Senator Gillibrand, wants to abolish ICE, which since 9/11 is the group primarily responsible for stopping terror."

Source: ABC-7 Eyewitness News on 2018 New York Senatorial debate Oct 25, 2018

Kirsten Gillibrand: Central American migrant caravan is seeking asylum

The candidates clashed on immigration, whether ICE should be abolished, and the massive migrant caravan moving slowly through Mexico. "People are calling it a caravan, I call it an invasion," Farley said. "We can't allow open borders."

"I do not support open borders, and neither do Democrats," Gillibrand countered. "What we have in this country is an immigration crisis. You have people in this caravan to seek asylum in this country. Immigration has always been a strength in this country. We are a country founded by immigrants. So we need to fix our broken immigration system. Separating children from their parents at the border is immoral, that's what this president has done."

"This is an act of terrorism," Farley responded. "It's got to stop. But my opponent, Senator Gillibrand, wants to abolish ICE, which since 9/11 is the group primarily responsible for stopping terror."

Source: ABC-7 Eyewitness News on 2018 New York Senatorial debate Oct 25, 2018

Kirsten Gillibrand: Get rid of ICE; separate anti-terrorism from border control

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) recently joined a growing number of Democrats who say they should get rid the agency when they take back control of the House and the Senate after the midterms.

"I think we should get rid of ICE," she said. "We should separate out two missions and do the anti-terrorism mission, the national security mission, and then on the other side, make sure you're doing-- looking at immigration as a humanitarian issue. These are civil issues."

Source: Independent Journal Review on 2018 New York Senate race Jul 31, 2018

Chele Farley: Against open borders; let border agents question suspects

Farley panned her opponent, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, an open borders proponent who earlier this month introduced a bill to make it more difficult for border agents to stop and question suspects about their immigration status. "I just don't understand why our senators and Kirstin Gillibrand are not doing more to stop the rapists and murderers who are destroying families," Farley said.
Source: Breitbart News on 2018 New York Senate race May 28, 2018

Dave Webber: Pathway to citizenship needed for law abiding immigrants

We are a country of immigrants. But we are also a nation with the rule of law. We should welcome immigrants with open arms, but immigrants should be legally here. We do have to ensure the safety of our citizens first. There are many immigrants who are here illegally but are otherwise leading crime-free lives, raising their families, paying taxes, and sending their kids to college. Our immigration policy to give these people a path to citizenship should be reformed.
Source: 2018 New York Senate campaign website DaveWebberForUsSenate Jan 18, 2018

Kirsten Gillibrand: 2007 SAVE Act: beef up border; oppose sanctuary cities

In 2007, she cosponsored the SAVE Act, which significantly beefed up border patrols, required all employers to check the immigration status of their employees through a flawed computer database, established monetary rewards for anyone who helped catch an undocumented immigrant trying to obtain falsified documents, and turned local police into an arm of federal immigration enforcement. She supported financially penalizing sanctuary cities.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2018 New York Senate race May 9, 2017

Kirsten Gillibrand: 2010: moratorium on government immigration raids

After meeting with the New York Immigration Coalition, she announced her support for a moratorium on government raids, for clearing the backlog of entry applications for immigrant families and reducing the waiting time, and for a path to citizenship in the temporary worker program. "I did expand my views on immigration, mostly because I did not have a large immigrant community in my district," Gillibrand said in 2010.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2018 New York Senate race May 9, 2017

  • The above quotations are from 2018 New York Senate race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Immigration.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Kirsten Gillibrand on Immigration.
Candidates and political leaders on Immigration:

Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021