Julian Castro in ABC This Week interviews during 2019

On Health Care: Denying health care for undocumented is un-American

What I would like every American taxpayer to know is that right now, number one, undocumented immigrants already pay a lot of taxes. Secondly, we already pay for the health care of undocumented immigrants. It's called the emergency room. People show up in the emergency room and they get care, as they should. And then third, it is the right thing to do. We're not going to let people living in this country die because they can't see a doctor. That's not who we are as Americans. Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview Jun 30, 2019

On Immigration: Can't take in everyone seeking asylum but can do more

We have a system to consider asylum claims based on certain criteria. Can we take everyone? Nobody has called for unlimited number of people coming to this country, but I do believe that we should expand that significantly, and we're big enough to do that. I refuse to believe, because it's not true, that the people that are coming because they're desperate, lot of them women and children, represent some sort of national security threat or cultural threat to this country. That's bull. Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview Jun 30, 2019

On Immigration: No to "open borders"; increase number of refugees admitted

We can take in 110,000 refugees annually. Right now, we're only taking in between 30,000 and 40,000 refugees, I would like to see that go up to the statutory limit. Nobody has called for unlimited number of people coming to this country, but I do believe that we should expand that significantly. I refuse to believe, because it's not true, that the people that are coming because they're desperate, lot of them women and children, represent some sort of national security threat. Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview series Jun 30, 2019

On Foreign Policy: Strengthen our relationship with allies to keep us safe

Today the greatest threat to our national security is the fact that this president is damaging the relationships that we've had at place in the post-World War II era, whether it's NATO or other alliances with individual countries, that have kept us safer. The first thing that I would do if I were president, with regard to our relationships around the world, is to strengthen them. Because those alliances have helped keep us safe. Source: ABC This Week 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary Jan 6, 2019

On Jobs: Minimum wage should be a living wage

It is a shame today that we have not seen a minimum wage increase in almost a decade. It's different than it used to be, right? You used to be able to work 40 hours, even on minimum wage, and be able to provide for your family. Today that's not true. And we need to get back to a place in this 21st Century where that is true. The economy works for everybody. Source: ABC This Week 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary Jan 6, 2019

On Tax Reform: Top earners, corporations should pay "fair share"

I can support folks at the top paying for fair share. There was a time in this country where the top marginal tax rate was over 90 percent, even during Reagan's era in the 1980s it was around 50 percent. So do I support, in order to have something like Medicare for all, that we ask folks that are in the top .05 percent or .5 percent or top 1 percent to pay more? And, also, that we get more serious about making sure the corporations pay their fair share, and that we're smart about understanding how instead of folks having to pay sky high premiums to companies that are seeking a profit to deliver health care that we can have a better system, even if that means that we rearrange where those dollars go? Yeah, I support that. Source: ABC This Week 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary Jan 6, 2019

The above quotations are from ABC This Week interviews during 2019 (Martha Raddatz interviewing candidates for 2019-2020 races). Click here for other excerpts from ABC This Week interviews during 2019 (Martha Raddatz interviewing candidates for 2019-2020 races). Click here for other excerpts by Julian Castro. Click here for a profile of Julian Castro.
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Page last updated: Nov 17, 2021