“We either have borders or we don’t”, he said, stressing that he plans to build a stronger border wall with Mexico. The vote is a bit over two months away, and Trump may be in trouble.
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Cuellar supports Trump because of his stance on immigration. Commentators say it has struggled to make the transition from the scrappy party nomination fight to the battle to become USA commander in chief. Pramila Jayapa, D-Seattle, who founded the immigrant rights group OneAmerica.
He put heavy emphasis on building “a wall that absolutely works”. In the early 1990s, two-thirds of Americans surveyed by Pew characterized immigrants as a burden on society, but now almost two-thirds see them as a benefit. “If they come back in, and then they have to start paying taxes, but there is no path to legalization unless they leave the country and come back”.
Trump, who also met Thursday in NY with members of a new Republican Party initiative meant to train young – and largely minority – volunteers, has been working to win over blacks and Latinos in light of his past inflammatory comments and has been claiming that the Democrats have taken minority voters’ support for granted.
“People of this country who want their laws enforced and respected by all, and who want their border secured, are not racists”, he said. Trump’s still-evolving shift on immigration and his play for black voters recalls the Samuel Johnson gibe (well before the days of political correctness) about a woman preaching: “Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs”.
Trump’s most devoted supporters have ignored other inconsistencies.
“We have to be very firm”. “From what I’ve learned as a Republican, it doesn’t matter what color you are”. “His disregard for the values that make our country great is profoundly risky”. It has to be very firm.
The property developer had previously planned to set up a “deportation force” that would round up the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, including thousands of Irish. That’s just one of the countless disgusting things that this woman has said.
“The logic of the policy was, this is what was the tent pole of his campaign: “The politicians are idiots”. You’ve got to be careful how you handle it and we’ve got to work our way through it. We don’t have borders. “They’ll pay back taxes”.
“And now he tells us oh, the laws are wonderful as administered by Bush and Obama”. I will be a little more energetic. That undermines everything he’s ever said, and you have to question, did he ever mean it? “I think the answer is probably no”.
“You know it’s a process, you can’t take 11 [million] at one time and just say, ‘Boom, you’re done, ‘” he said.
“Look, when you launch your campaign saying Mexican immigrants are rapists, drug dealers and murderers, I don’t know there’s a lot you can say to recover”, said Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of IL.
For Trump, the new, moderate talk on immigration could help convince some on-the-fence voters, particularly whites, that he has more compassion for Hispanics and other minorities than his previous, hard-line positions would suggest.
Even Ann Coulter, infamous for her stance against USA immigration, refused to believe Trump was flip-flopping, suggesting the new line was “coming from consultants”.
Speaking to MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, the controversial commentator called it “a mistake” by the campaign, and asked: “Why are we talking about softening the lives of lawbreakers”?
In a tweet shortly after Clinton wrapped up her speech in the swing state of Nevada, Trump said she “is pandering to the worst instincts in our society”.
As a candidate in the primary, Trump hammered Bush and Rubio for being soft on illegal immigrants.
When Cuellar comes across a Trump supporter, he beams with excitement, giving the person a sturdy handshake. The day after the release, Coulter took to Twitter to attack Donald for allegedly lightening his stance on undocumented immigrants. He said he once hated Trump because of what he read in the media, but changed his mind after doing his own research.
On immigration, Trump is at sea on a signature issue.
Trump had said earlier this week that he would be open to a “softening” on immigration, and made a series of comments that indicated a path to legalization was likely as long as they paid taxes accumulated from their time living here illegally.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are not letting him forget his history of outlandish comments.
“From now on here I will be known as the second Hillary”, said Clinton.
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“He may try to disguise his plans by throwing in words like “humane” or ” fair”, but the reality remains that Trump’s agenda echoes the extreme right’s will – one that is fueling a risky movement of hatred across the country”, Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said.
