LAS VEGAS — Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, Obama’s former housing and urban development secretary, further explained his proposal to “decriminalize” illegal border crossings, saying the deportation process is a civil one while the detainment of children and their families at border facilities as well as migrant family separation are criminal processes.
Following his interview at the AFSCME forum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Washington Examiner asked Castro how he would evenly apply his proposal to other ports of entry into the country, including the U.S. northern border and American airports.
“I would really encourage folks to understand how this actually works. The deportation process is a civil process. That is not a criminal process. It’s a civil process. So, everything that happens with regard to when somebody is apprehended and if they’re going to be deported, that is a civil process,” he said.
Castro continued, “We went for 60 years without that misdemeanor being enforced in law. In other words, we don’t need it. We still have a civil process which deals with deportation and asylum claims. So to say if somebody took away this law, and somebody could still come across the border without consequences, is completely untrue.”
“You’re still subject to deportation, and you’re still able to make your asylum claim if you want to … what would not exist is this law that he’s using to imprison and detain parents and separate them from their little children,” he added.
Castro promises to roll back Section 1325 of Title 8 of the U.S. code, which says “improper entry” into the U.S. is a federal misdemeanor crime. It picked up support from other Democratic candidates in the 2020 field after Castro challenged former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a fellow primary contender, on his disagreement to repealing the law during the first debate in Miami back in June.
