All Democratic Candidates Support Health Care For Undocumented Immigrants: ‘We Do Ourselves No Favors’ When Millions Can’t Access Care
Immigration was a hot topic at the second night of debates as the crisis at the border escalates amid troubling reports of inhumane treatment. When asked if they would support granting health care coverage to U.S. residents, regardless of immigration status, all candidates raised their hands. Meanwhile, fact checkers call the candidates out on their rhetoric about babies being kept in cages.
The Wall Street Journal:
Video: Democratic Hopefuls Say Undocumented Should Have Health-Care Access
In Thursday night’s presidential debate on NBC, all 10 Democratic hopefuls showed support for access to health care for everyone — regardless of immigration status. (6/27)
Politico:
Did The Democrats Step On A Second Big Landmine?
Pete Buttigieg expressed the sentiments of his fellow debaters when he said: “This is not about a handout. This is an insurance program. We do ourselves no favors by having 11 million undocumented people in our country be unable to access health care.” And then he added: “The real problem is we shouldn't have 11 million undocumented people with no pathway to citizenship. It makes no sense. The American people agree on what to do. This is a crazy thing. If leadership consists of forming a consensus around a divisive issue, this White House divided us around a consensus issue. The American people want a pathway to citizenship and protections for Dreamers.” (Greenfield, 6/28)
The Hill:
All Candidates Raise Hands On Giving Health Care To Undocumented Immigrants
NBC moderator Savannah Guthrie pressed former Vice President Joe Biden on the subject after failing to see that he raised his hand with the other candidates. When asked by Guthrie if he would provide federally supported health coverage to undocumented immigrants, Biden quickly corrected her. You cannot let people who are sick, no matter where they come from, no matter what their status, go uncovered. You can’t do that. It’s just going to be taken care of. Period. You have to. It’s the humane thing to do,” he insisted. (Bolton, 6/27)
The Washington Post:
Democratic Rivals Attack Biden, With Harris Leading The Way On Race Issues
Trump, who was attending the Group of 20 summit in Japan, was paying attention to the debate and weighed in after all 10 Democrats raised their hands to declare that they would support providing health care for undocumented immigrants. “All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited health care,” Trump said on Twitter during the debate. “How about taking care of American Citizens first!? That’s the end of that race!” (Scherer, Olorunnipa and Janes, 6/28)
The Hill:
Trump Slams Democrats Over Health Care For Undocumented Immigrants
Immigration has emerged as one of the top animating issues for both parties, with Democrats vowing to curtail the threat of deportation and provide pathways to citizenship while Trump doubles down on hard-line policies to curb legal and illegal border crossings and ramp up deportations of migrants already in the U.S.(Axelrod, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Fact Check: Dems On Migrant Kids, The Rich And Climate
A fired-up field of Democrats stumbled on some facts at the most visceral turns in their debate Thursday as they took on and sometimes sparred over race, the treatment of migrant children, the climate and the super-rich. ... [The candidates] are tapping into a misleading and common insinuation by Democrats about Trump placing "children in cages." The cages are actually chain-link fences and the Obama-Biden administration used them, too. Children and adults are held behind them, inside holding Border Patrol facilities, under the Trump administration as well.Obama's administration detained large numbers of unaccompanied children inside chain link fences in 2014. Images that circulated online of children in cages during the height of Trump's family separations controversy were actually from 2014 when Obama was in office. (Woodward, Long and Borenstein, 6/27)
The Washington Post:
Immigration, A Central Issue For Trump, Also Key Issue At Democratic Debate
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Trump has “torn apart the moral fabric of who we are.” South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg called the president’s family separation policy “dead wrong.” And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) vowed to use his executive authority, if elected, to erase Trump’s policies. “On day one, we take out our executive order pen and we rescind every damn thing on this issue that Trump has done,” Sanders said to cheers. But the Democrats also had to confront the party’s role in creating and funding a federal immigration system that set the stage for Trump’s tighter enforcement. (Sacchetti, 6/28)
