Sanders And O'Malley Rail Against Raids Seeking Central American Immigrants For Deportation

[Purveyor]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

By CATHERINE LUCEY | ASSOCIATED PRESS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley used a liberal forum in Iowa on Saturday to rail against holiday-season raids seeking Central American immigrants for deportation.

Before about 1,000 people packed into a Des Moines church, Sanders said that while he works closely with President Barack Obama, "I do not agree with him on his policy toward deportation." And O'Malley bemoaned the timing of the raids, stating that "Jesus himself was a refugee child."

Both candidates had previously criticized the raids, which first became public when The Washington Post published a story about the plans just before Christmas.

The White House defended the policies Friday. Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said the raids reflected the administration's top priorities for deportation — people with criminal convictions and people caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. But critics said the searches were ill-timed and disruptive for families.

Read more: http://www.newser.com/article/d8a0cce709bc4719acf06bc1987dd7a4/sanders-and-omalley-rail-against-raids-seeking-central-american-immigrants-for-deportation.html

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1. News of raids like this cause nightmares here in Iowa.

Our state has suffered greatly over the years.

[Uponthegears]

2. The families here

who have fled Guatemala and Costa Rica are living in terror. Some have already left their children with friends and family and gone into hiding. This is inhuman. Of all the groups to suddenly turn your back on . . . another reason to weep.

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3. Oh my GOODNESS!

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4. O'Malley on Obama's refugee raids: 'What the hell have we come to as a country?'

'This is not an immigration issue. This is a humanitarian issue, a refugee issue: people fleeing violence should be treated as such. But the Obama administration has nonetheless kicked off the new year with a series of raids to round up and deport Central American women and children.

Martin O'Malley summed it up best during this video of a Q/A in Iowa Sunday:

"What the hell have we come to as a country that you're talking about rounding up women and children fleeing death gangs at Christmas time?"

Amen, Martin. In fact, both O'Malley and Bernie Sanders came out with strong statements opposing this misbegotten policy when it was first leaked to the Washington Post two weeks ago, just days before Christmas. Unfortunately, the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, was content to let a spokesperson note that the candidate had "real concerns" about the reports.'>>>

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/4/1466060/-O-Malley-on-Obama-s-refugee-raids-What-the-hell-have-we-come-to-as-a-country

[Uponthegears]

5. YES

Third Way = Not OUR Way