Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Wednesday vowed to allow deported veterans back to the United States if he wins the White House.
“We’re going to bring our deported veterans home,” Castro said. “You know that today there are several thousand Americans — they’re Americans in every way except a piece of paper — who served our country in the military, some of them served in Vietnam, some of them served in the Gulf War, and then they were deported. They’re living in Mexico or other countries. In their hearts, they’re American, but our federal government has told them you’re not welcome here.”
Castro, 44, made the pledge during a counter-rally staged in his home town of San Antonio, the Texas city President Trump visited earlier in the day for a fundraiser.
The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that more than 200 U.S. military veterans have been deported in recent years, with the number increasing during the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The former mayor and Obama administration housing secretary has yet to meet fundraising requirements to qualify for the Democratic debates. Seeking traction in the crowded Democratic field, he ramped up his criticism of Trump and his White House rivals.
Touting his immigration platform, which calls for a “21st Century Marshall Plan” for Latin and Central America, Castro described Trump’s efforts to slash aid to the region as “downright stupid.” He said: “He’s also said that he wants to close the border,” Castro said. “To close the border would hurt Americans and their jobs. And that’s downright stupid too.”
Castro accused the other Democratic candidates of failing to offer their own solutions to the country’s immigration problems. “I mean, we know that this is the issue that the president has made front and center of his campaign, so why wouldn’t every candidate have an immigration plan?” he asked.
Less than a year before the Iowa caucuses, Castro has about 1% support nationwide, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
