On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) stated that the Trump administration is engaging in “the criminalization of immigration law and the militarization of immigration law.” And that instead of both parties trying to come to a rational solution, “what we’re getting from the administration is the attempt to criminalize people who are in the country and to militarize the whole situation. And that’s not just dangerous for the people who are the targets of it, it’s dangerous for all of society.”
Host Anderson Cooper asked, “Jamie, first of all, what do you make of that, Marines being used to — in support of ICE?”
Raskin responded, “What we’re seeing is the criminalization of immigration law and the militarization of immigration law. And that will only take us so far in terms of addressing the real problems or actually making some headway in terms of positive public policy for the country. And we’ve got to get back to the idea that people are coming to America because this is a land of opportunity where the most ambitious and restless and optimistic people in the world come to try to build a future for their families. But there’s also not just that push to get here. There’s a pull to get here, too, because we have huge shortages in our labor force, whether we’re talking about agriculture or we’re talking about construction or we’re talking about gardening and landscaping or restaurants or what have you. So, I think that there have been lots of periods where the two parties have gotten together to say, let’s figure out, legislatively, what we can do to bring some coherence and rationality to this. Instead, what we’re getting from the administration is the attempt to criminalize people who are in the country and to militarize the whole situation. And that’s not just dangerous for the people who are the targets of it, it’s dangerous for all of society.”
Later, he added that gang members and people who are a threat to society should be isolated.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
