CNN N. H. Town Hall: on Immigration


Deval Patrick: Allowed MA to shelter Central American refugee children

I remember once we had a crisis at the southern border in the last year I was in office, where all these unaccompanied children were coming across, some as young as four, five years old, fleeing violence in Central America. And the authorities were overwhelmed.

And I remember that President Obama asked a number of governors if we would shelter the children for a period of time while they were being processed as refugees. And I agreed to do so. We had the facilities. We had done it before. And I explained my reasoning to the people of Massachusetts as being based in both patriotism and faith, patriotism, because this country has given shelter to desperate children for a very long time.

One time we didn't, we turned a shipload of Jewish children back to the Holocaust. It's been a blight on our national reputation ever since, as I fear the separation of children at the southern border will be.

Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary Feb 6, 2020

Pete Buttigieg: Community Renewal Visas: fast-track rural immigration

This has to be a country that manages things like immigration in a way that aligns with our values and our laws. Part of it is that we need to update our laws, which haven't been changed since the 1980s and have made it impossible for us to manage immigration in a commonsense way. But part of it also is recognizing that immigration is part of the lifeblood of this country.

It's why part of what I've proposed is what we call "Community Renewal Visas", as part of my vision for how we increase the economic prospects of rural areas, is that if an area that's hurting for population wants to welcome more--and many do, even in more conservative areas--that they can apply for an allotment of community renewal visas that fast-track folks who are new to America and will commit to living in those communities.

We need to lift up the role of immigration as an engine for our economy, for the development of our communities, and not just pay lip service to legal immigration.

Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary Feb 6, 2020

Elizabeth Warren: Restore aid to Central America to reduce emigration

This so-called crisis at our border is one that Donald Trump helped blow up. He did it in part by disrupting aid and assistance for the Central American countries. And that meant that both their economy struggled and the government struggled to keep control over the gangs.

When I first read about our government spending our tax dollars to take children away from their families, a year-and-a-half ago, I went down to the border, to McAllen, Texas. I saw a cage of nursing mothers [and one why said she fled] Central America: She had given a drink to a police officer, and the next day, she got the word that the gangs believed she was working with the police. She knew that meant that she and her baby would be killed. So she wrapped her baby up and she ran for our border. So what we have to do is we have to restore aid in Central America, get our allies to do that, help stabilize those governments, so people don't feel that they have to flee for their lives in order to have any future.

Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary Feb 5, 2020

Elizabeth Warren: Path to citizenship for all here will strengthen America

Immigration makes this country stronger. It's true economically and it's true in terms of how we build ties all around the world. It's how we build a future. I want to expand legal immigration into this country. The second thing I want to do is I want to take people who are here, who are living in the shadows, who live in fear, and I want to bring them out into the open and make them able to participate in our economy openly. That means a pathway to citizenship.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary Feb 5, 2020

Elizabeth Warren: We cannot be a nation that puts children and adults in cages

I went to McAllen, Texas. I went into what looked like a giant warehouse. I walked into the main area and that's where the cages of children were. Right in the center. A cage full of little girls. Just little girls. No toys, nothing to play with, no television, children who don't even know each other. And they were all just sitting there. We cannot be a nation that takes away children from their families. We cannot be a nation that treats people with anything other than humanity.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary Feb 5, 2020

  • The above quotations are from CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of N. H. primary
    at Saint Anselm College, Manchester NH.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Immigration.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Deval Patrick on Immigration.
  • Click here for more quotes by Tom Steyer on Immigration.
2020 Presidential contenders 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)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
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)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
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)
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Page last updated: Mar 11, 2020