WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s stance on immigration is just like Clinton’s — that is, President Bill Clinton’s, according to Republican Dr. Ben Carson, a Trump backer.
Speaking to “Fox News Sunday,” Carson recalled Clinton’s 1995 State of the Union speech in which the commander-in-chief said Americans are “rightly disturbed” by “the large numbers of illegal aliens” and pledged a crackdown on deportations and border security.
“[Clinton] said illegal aliens are creating big problems for us and we’re going to put a lot more Border Patrol people on and secure our border and we’re not going to have people able to work who come in illegally,” Carson said Sunday. “We’re going to cut off their welfare benefits and we’re going to deport people in record numbers. You know, he says basically the same thing, but when he says it, wow, great, standing ovation, this is a great president. But when Trump says it, it’s hate speech. What hypocrisy. What incredible hypocrisy.”
Trump is proposing to construct a border wall, deport millions of criminal aliens, end sanctuary cities and offer no amnesty for undocumented immigrants. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wants to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and if Congress doesn’t act, she’ll protect more from deportation with expanded executive actions.
‘[Bill Clinton] says basically the same thing, but when he says it, wow, great, standing ovation, this is a great president. But when Trump says it, it’s hate speech.’
- Ben Carson
But Labor Secretary Tom Perez said there’s a big difference between President Clinton’s stance in the 1990s and Trump’s “clear” message from the outset of his campaign that he’s “not with” the Latino community.
“Donald Trump is proposing to deport 4 million US-born children of undocumented parents,” Perez told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Donald Trump believes that you cannot do anything in this country, basically, if you are an undocumented immigrant. Donald Trump has said that he is going to repeal the Dreamer program … Donald Trump, you know, has said that Mexicans are rapists and murderers — or rapists and drug dealers. You judge a person by their actions. And Donald Trump has repeatedly sent a very clear signal. And when you are hanging out with the likes of [Sheriff] Joe Arpaio, you’re sending a very clear signal to the Latino community that, you know what, I am not with you.”
Perez added: “If you’re holding your breath for Donald Trump to come up with a sensible Latin outreach strategy or African-American outreach strategy, you’re going to die of asphyxia, because he doesn’t have one.”