{"id":21771,"date":"2019-07-29T15:27:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T19:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=21771"},"modified":"2019-07-29T15:27:46","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T19:27:46","slug":"democratic-candidates-debates-presidential-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2019\/07\/29\/democratic-candidates-debates-presidential-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"What Kind Of Democratic Party Will this Week’s Debates Showcase?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Americans were given a glimpse of far out of the mainstream many Democratic politicians have drifted when all ten candidates<\/a>\u00a0on the podium during last month\u2019s first debate raised an affirmative hand to the question of whether their health insurance plan would cover illegal aliens. It is a position shared by a majority<\/a> of the 20-plus Democratic presidential candidates, but one which risks alienating conservative Democrats, Independents and even Hispanic voters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there has to be some moderation. I disagree with the candidates\u2019 positions about providing health care to undocumented immigrants, when you have Americans who don\u2019t have health care,\u201d said<\/a> Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), following the June Democratic presidential primary debate, who surmised their answer \u201cwasn\u2019t thought through.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garcia is not the only one who\ndisagrees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The embrace of health care coverage may have been popular within the debate hall, but a CNN survey<\/a> taken several weeks later found 59 percent of Americans opposed the idea. In a mid-July NPR\/PBS Newshour\/Marist College poll<\/a>, the opposition was even higher \u2013 and not just among Republicans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked whether \u201ca national health\ninsurance program available\u201d to illegal aliens is a good or a bad idea, 66\npercent of all Democrats said it is a good idea, while 32 percent disagree. But\nwhen broken down along ideological identification, moderate Democrats were more\ninclined to voice opposition (47 percent) than support (43 percent) and even\nmore Independent voters (67 to 27 percent) rejected the idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the handful of candidates who have released immigration plans, it does not appear they have thought beyond the Democratic primaries and caucuses. In her plan, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls<\/a> for the near-abolition of ICE ; admitting six to eight times more refugees than Trump has to date; ending private detention centers; and decriminalizing illegal immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those same policies, are backed by Sen. Kamala Harris of California<\/a> with one notable exception \u2013 decriminalization of illegal immigration. Despite voicing support for it during the first debate, Harris flipped her stance last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is not correct, I\u2019m not in favor of decriminalizing or not having consequence for, let me be very clear, we have to have a secure border, but I am in favor of saying that we\u2019re not going to treat people who are undocumented cross the border as criminals, that is correct, that is correct,\u201d Harris said during an appearance<\/a> last Friday on The View.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She then clarified: \u201cI would not make it\na crime punishable by jail. It should be a civil enforcement issue but not a\ncriminal enforcement issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps Harris\u2019 campaign staff took note\nof the findings of the PBS\/NPR\/Marist poll that found 68 percent of Independents\nand 58 percent of so-called moderate Democrats who think that is a bad idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For months Democrats have been able to\nslide with canned comments about \u201ccomprehensive immigration reform\u201d and\ncriticisms of the President Trump\u2019s rhetoric without having to come up with\nreal solutions or policy specifics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Tara Golshan of the liberal Vox writes<\/a>, \u201cStill, immigration remains one of the most contentious policy issues in the United States. And Democrats\u2019 plans so far aren\u2019t addressing the most divisive issues, including whom to deport and whom to let in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far the Democrats who have addressed those divisive issues have taken positions at odds with moderates in their party and average Americans. Will any of that change during two days of televised debates on CNN? Tune in.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans were given a glimpse of far out of the mainstream many Democratic politicians have drifted when all ten candidates\u00a0on the podium during last month\u2019s first debate raised an affirmative hand to the question of whether their health insurance plan would cover illegal aliens. It is a position shared by a majority of the 20-plus<\/p>\n

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