TL/DR –
US Senate candidate Kari Lake suggested that children brought to the US without proper documentation should be sent back to their countries of origin, without clarifying if this also applies to those who grew up in the US. Lake’s comments referred to the over 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US, which includes the so-called “Dreamers” who were brought to the US as children. Lake, the favorite for the Republican nomination, has stated several times that she wants people who came during the “Bidenvasion” to be sent “back to their homeland”.
US Senate Candidate Kari Lake’s Stance on Immigration
Kari Lake, the US Senate candidate, recently suggested again that children brought to the US undocumented should be returned to their countries of origin. However, she did not clarify whether this applies to those who have grown up in the US.
Lake’s comments at a recent press conference in Phoenix and on CNN addressed the over 12 million undocumented immigrants, including the group known as “Dreamers,” who were brought to the US as children and in some cases have grown into adulthood living in the US.
In 2022, 51% of Arizona voters supported providing state college tuition rates to undocumented immigrants. A 2020 Pew Research Center poll found that 74% of Americans supported granting legal permanent status (a classification lower than citizenship) to Dreamers, with 54% of Republicans also favoring this outcome.
Kari Lake’s Position on “Bidenvasion”
Lake, a favorite for the Republican nomination, has repeatedly stated she wants people who came during the “Bidenvasion” to be sent “back to their homeland.” She clarified that she refers to individuals who have crossed since President Joe Biden opened the border on his first day in office.
When asked to clarify if this applies to Dreamers, Lake avoided the issue. She further accused The Arizona Republic of twisting language to make people wanting security for their communities look bad.
“I feel great compassion for people coming. But some of them are criminals,” she continued. “And the ones I truly feel sorry for are the ones shown no compassion at all – these are our American children who are dreamers, our American families, our American individuals who dream of living the American Dream. And because of these 9, 10, or 12 million, depending on the numbers one believes, we don’t have access to that.”
Concerns About Unaccompanied Minors
Lake expressed concern for unaccompanied minors crossing the border and sided with former President Donald Trump’s wish to “reunite these children with their families.”
In a January 27 CNN interview, Lake also referred to the often-cited illegal immigration figure that includes Dreamers. She stated, “We need to fix the situation for the 12 million people here. And to save our homeland, we need to send them back to their country and start repatriating these people to their nation. We can’t afford to take on all the world’s problems. We have so many problems of our own here and we’re forgetting about the American people.”
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