Democrat Julian Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary under Obama, made it official Saturday: He’s jumping in the soon-to-be-overcrowded field of Democratic candidates vying for a chance to topple Donald Trump in 2020. While the Republican National Committee laughed off the announcement by the “lightweight,” Castro was busy booking media appearances, including on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
In a moment pointed out by the Washington Examiner and others, while talking with “Face the Nation” Sunday, Castro offered his take on how to address the illegal immigrant detainment issue that has been such a hot button topic since Trump took over (it was strangely not a big deal under Obama). Instead of detaining or even deporting illegal immigrants, he suggested, why not do what the Obama administration started to do near the end — slap on some ankle monitors and set them free?
“What I believe we could do and what the Obama administration did do, I believe, toward the end of its tenure, was to look at things like ankle monitors so that you’re able to monitor where people are in the country,” the former San Antonio mayor and son of a Mexican immigrant told “Face the Nation.”
A pilot program using ankle monitors for illegal immigrants was launched under Obama in 2016, but the Trump administration canceled it, maintaining that they’re too easily removed to be effective for those who are intent on living in the country illegally. The administration’s cancellation of the Obama-era program was roundly criticized by the press, including NBC News.
“The Family Case Management Program, launched as a pilot in early 2016, aimed to keep asylum seeking kin together, out of detention, and complying with immigration laws,” NBC reported in June 2018. “It was praised by immigration advocates for both its high rate of compliance and its ability to help migrants thrive in a new country — right up until the Trump administration shuttered it almost exactly a year ago.” – READ MORE