Bernie Says Immigration Threatens The Social Safety Net. Research Shows Otherwise

[TomCADem]

3. "Open Borders" Is a Right Wing Talking Point. Why Does Bernie Go Out of His Way...

...to trash a policy that no one advocates. It is like going out of your way to oppose burlap underwear.

The reason is that this is a false talking point pushed by Trump and Republicans to paint Democrats as being soft on immigration. Rather than call out this falsehood, Bernie embraces it and takes every chance he can to point out that he hates open borders.

If you run a search on Trump and Open Borders, you will see that this is one of his favorite falsehoods to attack Democrats. Yet, Bernie jumps on the bandwagon to attack this strawman, which only serves to scapegoat and stigmatize immigrant communities.

While others have fought against this right-wing falsehood, Bernie has leaned into and appropriated it. Sadly, it gives people license to once again hate on immigrants.

Julián Castro dismantles Meghan McCain’s ‘right-wing talking point’ after she claims Democrats want open borders

The View’s Meghan McCain on Thursday confronted Democratic candidate Julián Castro on his plan to end family separations at the border by decriminalizing border crossings and adjudicating those cases in civil court. The conservative host said Castro’s plan is akin to “open borders” — a claim the Democratic candidate dismissed as a “right-wing talking point.”

Speaking on “The View,” Castro discussed his plan to repeal Section 1325, the section of Title 8 of the United States Code that allows federal authorities to charge immigrants with a misdemeanor for crossing into the U.S. without proper documentation. Castro repeatedly mentioned Section 1325 at Wednesday’s Democratic debate, and used it as a sticking point during a tense exchange with fellow Texan Beto O’Rourke.

“If you decriminalize, aren’t you calling for open borders, and how can you enforce any rules if there are no repercussions for doing something illegal?” McCain asked Castro on Thursday.

“Well, there would be repercussions,” Castro, who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary under former President Barack Obama, replied. “Somebody is still in the court system. They’re still subject to be deported if that’s the determination of the court. So what’s the difference between somebody charged with a misdemeanor crime, and somebody charged with a civil violation? At the end of the day, they’re still in that civil court process, and they may well be deported.” “So this is not open borders,” he continued. “That’s a right-wing talking point.”