O'Malley: Trump ideas 'this close to ethnic cleansing'
USTIN -- Presidential hopeful Martin O'Malley is hammering Republicans and Democrats alike on the issue of immigration.
The former Maryland governor sat down for a home-cooked lunch of chilaquiles and potatoes Thursday with the Ramirez family in East Austin. The "DAPA Dinner" visit came at the invitation of the Ramirez family and Workers Defense in Action, in the hopes of sharing stories highlighting the issues facing undocumented immigrants.
"How would you feel if you came home one day and no one was there?" asked a tearful Abigail Ramirez, who was born in the U.S. to parents who came illegally decades ago. "All you think is, 'Oh they just went out,' but then after hours and hours of waiting, they never come back. I have to live in constant fear of that happening to me."
Despite barely registering in the polls, O'Malley listened patiently to the heartfelt recollections of mother, father and daughters of mixed immigration statuses. O'Malley promises to expand broad protections for certain undocumented immigrants introduced through executive action by President Obama.
"Our enduring symbol is the Statue of Liberty. It's not a barbed wire fence or detention camps for women and children," O'Malley told the family, vowing to close all such facilities if elected president.
It's a stark contrast from Republicans; in particular front runner Donald Trump, who said in an MSNBC interview this week, "You're going to have a deportation force, and you're going to do it humanely."
"The sort of hateful, racist rhetoric that Donald Trump spews out to try to scapegoat others I think is really bad for our country and I think all of us need to press back against it," O'Malley said of the comments Thursday. "It's this close to ethnic cleansing,idea the sorts of things that he's talking about."
Yet O'Malley is also critical of fellow Democrats' failure to advance broader, comprehensive immigration reform. Specifically, O'Malley accuses Clinton of using the term "illegal immigrants" when speaking to some crowds and "new Americans" to others, depending on their immigration views.
"I think that Secretary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both represent the sort of failed, speak out of both sides of your mouth gridlock politics of Washington," said O'Malley. "It's no wonder we can't get this done."
http://www.kvue.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/12/omalley-trump-close-to-ethnic-cleansing/75677406/
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