National Public Radio: on Immigration


Alejandro Mayorkas: Border is varied; monolithic answer like wall isn't needed

Senators asked Mayorkas if he believed the border wall constructed by the Trump administration should be taken down. Mayorkas said the border "is varied, depending on the geography, depending on the specific venue, and depending on the conduct of individuals around it." He said that "we don't need nor should we have a monolithic answer to that varied and diverse challenge."
Source: NPR on DHS Secretary Confirmation Hearings Jan 19, 2021

Barack Obama: Illegals shouldn’t work; but should have path to citizenship

Q: Under an Obama administration, what rights do immigrants have if they’re working without proper authorization come January 2009?

A: I think that if they are illegal, then they should not be able to work in this country. That is part of the principle of comprehensive reform, which we’re going to crack down on employers who are hiring them and taking advantage of them. But I also want to give them a pathway, so that they can earn citizenship, earn a legal status, start learning English, pay a significant fine, and go to the back of the line. But they can then stay here and they can have the ability to enforce a minimum wage that they’re paid, make sure the worker safety laws are available, make sure that they can join a union.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Barack Obama: Don’t deputize Americans to turn in illegal immigrants

Q: Would you expect Americans to turn in illegal immigrants when they come across them?

A: We do not deputize the American people to do the job that the federal government is supposed to do. So as president, I will make sure that the federal government does what it’s supposed to do, which is to do a better job of closing our borders, have much tougher enforcement standards when it comes to employers, and create a pathway of citizenship for the 12 million people who are already here.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Barack Obama: OK to provide government services in Spanish

Q: Will you remove the question about what language we speak when we call any U.S. government office?

A: No, because there are Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens who may not speak English well, and if they’re seeking help, for example, on some vital health care question, or a senior citizen who emigrated here a long time ago and they’re trying to get their Social Security check, I don’t want them to not be able to get those services.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Beto O`Rourke: Treat asylum seekers with respect; repair home countries

I would treat every asylum-seeker with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings. I would resource the Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, the Office of Refugee Resettlement commensurate with the need they face. I would also go to the heart of the problem and ensure that we're working with partner nations in the Western Hemisphere to reduce violence at home and try to ensure that they don't have to make that 2,000-mile journey in the first place.
Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments" Jun 14, 2019

Chris Dodd: Hold employers accountable for knowingly hiring illegals

Q: What would you want employers to do when hiring and a workers documents do not appear to be in order?

A: I think you’ve got an obligation here to go beyond that if you have any doubts or questions here. People who knowingly hire undocumented workers, I think, need to be held accountable to a far higher degree of penalty, civil and possibly criminal, if in fact it’s widespread, because these are the things that are going to slow down the 400,000 to 500,000 people who come here each year.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Dennis Kucinich: No vigilantism & no sending illegals home willy-nilly

Q: What should employers do when hiring and a workers documents do not appear to be in order?

A: Rely on the Constitution. We don’t encourage vigilantism in this country. We have due process, we have equal protection, we have habeas corpus. As I’ve said: Cancel NAFTA. Negotiate a new trade agreement with Mexico based on workers rights, human rights, and environmental quality principles. Give a path to legalization for the people who have been here. You can’t send them home willy-nilly.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Dennis Kucinich: Encourage the American people to reach out; learn languages

Q: Is this country gradually going to become more a Spanish-speaking country, and should we accept that?

A: I was able to defeat an English-only proposal in the Ohio Senate years ago when I pointed out our state’s founding documents were in German. We need to have our children learn languages. Why are we separating ourselves from the possibility of being able to merge with the world? An insular and isolated America doesn’t cut it. I’m talking about encouraging the American people to reach out.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Donald Trump: FactCheck: border mayors claim towns are secure & safe

NM Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said.

In its fact check of Trump's State of the Union speech, NPR relayed these assessments: "As for the 'state of our Southern border,' mayors along the Southwest border consistently say that their communities are among the safest in the nation. McAllen TX Mayor Jim Darling asserted that his city is the 3rd safest in Texas, according to FBI crime statistics, and 7th safest in the nation. 'Send social workers to process the asylum-seekers, not soldiers,' Darling said. Eddie Trevino, Cameron County judge in Brownsville, added, 'It is a misconception that the border is insecure. There is no Central American invasion. This is a manufactured crisis.' "

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2019 State of the Union address Feb 6, 2019

Hillary Clinton: English unifies us; teach ESL but support other languages

Q: Is this country gradually going to become more a Spanish-speaking country, and should we accept that?

A: Well, there's three different points here. First, we need to have English as a common, unifying language. It's an important part of who we are and how we keep this big, diverse country of ours going. Secondly, there are a lot of Americans who are citizens who speak different languages. I represent New York City. I think there's, like, 170 languages and dialects; the city would be in total chaos if people didn't get some services and some help in the language that they actually understood. And thirdly, make it clear that we do expect people who want to become legal in America to try to learn English. But that doesn't mean that they have to give up the language that they originally had, but we have to do more with English as second language, more help in schools, to get people to be able to speak and comprehend English

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Jeff Merkley: State of the Union: protest child separation at border

The most important political issues of the past year will be on display, not only in what President Trump says in his State of the Union address, but in who will be in the audience. Lawmakers, along with the president and first lady, pick guests every year to highlight or protest the policies of an administration.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said he will "highlight the human suffering" caused by the president's immigration policy by bringing Albertina Contreras Teletor and Yakelin Garcia Contreras, a mother and daughter who were separated at the Southern border last year.

Yakelin, who turns 12 on Tuesday, was separated from her mother for nearly two months before they were reunited. "This child separation policy came from a dark and evil place within the heart of this administration," Merkley said in a statement.

Source: KUOW 94.9 FM (NPR) on 2019 State of the Union Feb 5, 2019

Joe Biden: FactCheck: 67% of illegal aliens speak Spanish; not 40%

Biden's discussion of his search for a nanny years ago led him into trouble. Biden said, "Most of the illegals that came to seek a job with me, they did not speak Spanish. They were from Ireland, England. They were from Germany. They were from Poland. The majority of the people here undocumented--60%--are not Spanish speaking." Chris Dodd jumped in and confirmed that most illegals are, in fact, Spanish speakers. Biden wisely deferred to Dodd.

In fact, Mexico was the country of birth of 57% of the estimated 11.55 million unauthorized immigrants in 2006. Add in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras--all Spanish-speaking countries--and it jumps to 67%. You'd have to go back many decades to get to a time when the majority of undocumented immigrants were Britons, Germans, Irish and Poles.

Source: FactCheck on 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Joe Biden: H1-B visas only for jobs Americans can't do

Q: What would you do as president: Expand H1-B visas or scale them back?

A: I have been working with this for a long time, as former chairman of the Judiciary Committee. That's where it comes out of. We have it about right now, except that the employers aren't doing their part. They've got to offer the job. If there's an American there who will take the job, they can't undercut it by hiring an Indian engineer who will work for less; that's illegal. We're not enforcing it.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Joe Biden: Promised 125,000 refugees; but accepted fewer than Trump

PROMISE MADE: (Remarks by Pres. Biden on America's place in the world, 2/4/21): This executive order will position us to be able to raise the refugee admissions back up to 125,000 persons for the first full fiscal year of the Biden-Harris administration.

PROMISE CONFIRMED: (Proposed Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions, 2/12/21): This report proposes providing allocations by region, with a new FY 2021 admissions number of 62,500 refugees.

PROMISE BROKEN: (NBC News, 4/16/21): Biden will not increase the number of refugees allowed to enter the U.S. this year. Biden notified Congress in February that he would increase the number of refugees allowed to enter the country from 15,000 to 62,500. But he never signed the presidential determination that would actually raise the cap. Analysis: Biden is on track to accept the fewest refugees this year of any modern president, including Trump.

Source: NPR on Biden Administration promises Apr 22, 2021

John Edwards: Loss of middle-class jobs drives down wages, not immigrants

Q: You do not believe that illegal immigration is driving down wages. How can that be, if they're being paid less?

A: The studies show is there are a lot of things driving down wages. One of those things is the loss of good middle-class jobs, which has been accelerated under this administration. And I think there are a variety of things that are contributing to that. There are a whole range of things that we need to do if we actually want to save the middle class and strengthen the American economy.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

John Edwards: No short-term solution; need comprehensive reform

Q: Under an Edwards administration, what rights do immigrants have if they're working without proper authorization come January 2009?

A: They're in a very vulnerable position. What we want to make certain is that we are enforcing the laws that apply to employers. This is not a short-term solution. I wish there were a clear short-term solution that would be effective. The answer to this is comprehensive immigration reform. That is ultimately the answer.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

John Edwards: H1-B visas only for jobs Americans can't do

Q: What would you do as president: Expand H1-B visas or scale them back?

A: Well, the first point is, why is America not educating and training American workers to do these jobs? That's the starting point. If American workers are actually competent to do those jobs, American workers should be doing those jobs. The whole purpose of the H1-B visa program is to bring people from other places that have to do jobs that we don't have American workers to do.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Julian Castro: Don't separate kids and families; don't jail asylum seekers

We're not going to separate little children from their families ... we're not going to routinely put people in detention. Now if somebody has committed a crime, then of course you're still going to sometimes have the ability to detain somebody. But let's just say a mom that has come here with her little baby, I would not incarcerate those folks. I would not treat them as criminals.
Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments" May 24, 2019

Julian Castro: Current "merit" system says only certain people have merit

I'd ask folks to think about what we consider a "skilled" job today. Do you think that you could go and spend 10 hours picking a crop in the fields of California? Do you think that you could spend 10 hours in 102 degrees, underneath the blaring sun on a roof in Texas? That is skilled labor. But this merit system that the president has set up says that only certain people have merit.
Source: NPR Morning Edition: Election 2020 Special Series May 24, 2019

Kamala Harris: Due process & right to counsel, for asylum seekers

My first bill in the United States Senate was Access to Counsel Act to ensure that nobody would be denied access to counsel when they're going through these hearings around refugee status and around asylum. I disagree with any policy that would turn America's back on people who are fleeing harm. I would not enforce a law that would reject people and turn them away without giving them a fair and due process to determine if we should give them asylum and refuge.
Source: NPR Morning Edition: Election 2020 Special Series Mar 14, 2019

Larry Hogan: Reject Trump policy of separating families at the border

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump, who has warned of an immigration emergency in the region. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said, adding that the area has "some of the safest communities in the country."

The governor's order covers most of New Mexico's deployed troops, along with Guard members who have traveled from AR, KS, KY, NH, SC, and WI. In all, 118 National Guard troops have been deployed in New Mexico, the governor's office said.

At least five states, including two led by Republicans, rejected the president's call to send troops., with Maryland's Gov. Larry Hogan saying his state wanted nothing to do with the Trump administration policy of separating families at the border.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 Maryland Gubernatorial race Feb 6, 2019

Marsha Blackburn: State of the Union: protest undocumented immigrants licenses

The most important political issues of the past year will be on display, not only in what President Trump says in his State of the Union address, but in who will be in the audience. Lawmakers pick guests every year to highlight or protest the policies of an administration.

Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Tim Burchett are bringing Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran and Wendy Corcoran. They are the parents of Pierce Corcoran, 22, who died in a car accident in 2018. Corcoran was in a car crash with a driver who is an undocumented immigrant, who has been charged with negligent homicide and driving without a license or insurance. The accident has fueled the ongoing national debate over illegal immigration.

"The tragedy the Corcoran family has endured is one no family should ever have to experience," Blackburn said, "The attendance of Pierce's parents at the State of the Union serves as a reminder that we, as a Congress, have a duty to keep the American people safe."

Source: KUOW 94.9 FM (NPR) on 2019 State of the Union Feb 5, 2019

Maura Healey: Fought Muslim travel ban & family separation at border

Healey went to court to fight--among other issues--the travel ban targeting primarily Muslim countries, family separation at the United States--Mexico border, a push to let some employers deny health insurance coverage for contraception, multiple attempts to weaken protections involving student loans, multiple attempts to weaken regulation of environmentally damaging emissions by power plants and motor vehicles, and the attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Source: WGBH (NPR Radio) on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race Feb 3, 2022

Michelle Lujan-Grisham: Withdraw troops from Mexican border: there's no emergency

Gov. Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump, who has warned of an immigration emergency in th region. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said, adding that the area has "some of the safest communities in the country."

Lujan Grisham ordered the withdrawal just before Trump delivered his State of the Union address, in which he railed against illegal immigration and labeled a group of mainly Central American migrants as "illegal immigrants"--despite the fact that most of them are traveling with legal humanitarian visas.

Lujan Grisham rejected the idea that a national emergency exists along her state's border with Mexico. But she also said some troops will remain in southwestern NM, saying they're needed to fulfill a humanitarian mission.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 New Mexico Gubernatorial race Feb 6, 2019

Michelle Nunn: Un-American travel ban hurts refugees & US standing in world

Hours after President Trump signed his executive order on travel and immigration, Nunn said the order would jeopardize the organization's efforts to save and protect refugees from nations like Syria. Nunn argued the order would hurt the standing of the U.S. in the international community. "We could foreseeably compromise relationships vital to our national interests," she said. In an email to CARE supporters and donors, Nunn went farther, calling the order "this harmful and un-American ban."
Source: WABE 90.1 NPR on 2019-20 Georgia 2-year Senate race Aug 25, 2014

Mike Gravel: We're making a mountain out of a mole hill on immigration

Q: Under a Gravel administration, what rights do immigrants have if they're working without proper authorization come January 2009?

A: Stop and think. Our unemployment level is about 4.5, and that's about as low as you can get it. So, where is the problem? We have to have people fill these jobs. They come in and fill these jobs. We call them illegal. Are they illegal? They're filling jobs that need to be done. But we're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Susana Martinez: Deploy National Guard troops on Mexican border

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump, who has warned of an immigration emergency in the region. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said, adding that the area has "some of the safest communities in the country."

The governor's order covers most of New Mexico's deployed troops, along with Guard members who have traveled from AR, KS, KY, NH, SC, and WI. In all, 118 National Guard troops have been deployed in New Mexico, the governor's office said.

New Mexico sent National Guard troops to the border last April in an order from then-Gov. Susana Martinez that followed a White House proclamation. At least five states, including two led by Republicans, rejected the president's call to send troops.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 New Mexico Gubernatorial race Feb 6, 2019

Tim Burchett: State of the Union: protest undocumented immigrants licenses

The most important political issues of the past year will be on display, not only in what President Trump says in his State of the Union address, but in who will be in the audience. Lawmakers pick guests every year to highlight or protest the policies of an administration.

Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Tim Burchett are bringing Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran and Wendy Corcoran. They are the parents of Pierce Corcoran, 22, who died in a car accident in 2018. Corcoran was in a car crash with a driver who is an undocumented immigrant, who has been charged with negligent homicide and driving without a license or insurance. The accident has fueled the ongoing national debate over illegal immigration.

"The tragedy the Corcoran family has endured is one no family should ever have to experience," Blackburn said, "The attendance of Pierce's parents at the State of the Union serves as a reminder that we, as a Congress, have a duty to keep the American people safe."

Source: KUOW 94.9 FM (NPR) on 2019 State of the Union Feb 5, 2019

  • The above quotations are from National Public Radio election coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Immigration.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Howard Dean on Immigration.
  • Click here for more quotes by Harry Reid on Immigration.
2024 Presidential contenders on Immigration:
  Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA)
Chase Oliver(L-GA)
Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA)
Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL)
Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH)
Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN)
Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)

2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE)
N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R)
N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R)
Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R)
S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R)
Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R)
Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN)
Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH)
S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024