Healthcare, Immigration Spark Liveliest Debate
At the Democratic debate in Miami Wednesday, the 10 candidates largely agreed on what the Democratic platform should be during the 2020 presidential election. But a few major differences divided them on hot button issues that will likely define their campaigns as the primaries approach.
Here’s a look at where candidates diverged:
HEALTHCARE
When moderators asked point blank which candidates supported abolishing private health insurance — often seen as an eventuality of Medicare for All — only two candidates raised their hands: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. But others, including Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, said during the discussion that they supported the expansion of Medicare to all Americans.
“Healthcare is not just a human right, it should be an American right, and I believe the best way to get there is Medicare for All,” said Booker.
Others, such as Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, advocated for a public option, which would give more Americans access to a public insurance plan (possibly Medicare or Medicaid) but would also allow for private insurance.
“I am just simply concerned about kicking half of America off of their health insurance in the next four years,” said Klobuchar.
No candidates openly advocated for keeping healthcare as it is today, and all seemed to agree that the current system is not working.
IMMIGRATION
The debate turned into a shouting match when an emotionally charged viral image of a father and toddler who drowned this week trying to cross the Rio Grande became the context for a discussion about one of the most polarizing issues in America: immigration.
Julián Castro, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the first Democratic candidate to release a comprehensive immigration plan, said he would sign an executive order on day one to end President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, as well as practices that require migrants to wait in Mexico until their immigration court hearings and metering at the border that caps the daily number of migrants who can apply for asylum. He blamed metering for the deaths of Óscar Alberto MartÃnez RamÃrez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter Valeria, whose corpses were photographed when they drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande.
That metering caused the Salvadoran migrants' deaths is unsubstantiated, according to The Washington Post.
Castro also called on all of his colleagues to pledge their support to repeal Section 1325 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The section criminalizes crossing into the United States without proper documentation, as well as marrying someone or creating a commercial enterprise to evade immigration laws.
Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke refused to say that he would decriminalize crossing the U.S.-Mexico border for unauthorized immigrants who are not asylum seekers or refugees, and has previously said he does not support decriminalizing border crossings. “A lot of folks who are coming are not seeking asylum,” Castro fired back. Both Texans were soon talking over one another, their words largely drowned out.
Migrants who apply for asylum at a legal port of entry are not breaking U.S. law. Most unauthorized immigrants in recent years have overstayed visas that allowed them to enter the country legally instead of crossing the border illegally. Though their immigration status is the same as migrants who cross the border illegally, they have committed a civil instead of a criminal offense and it's usually easier for them to legalize their status.
Photo Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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