Presidential hopeful Cory Booker was in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Wednesday and traveled with asylum seekers as they crossed the U.S. southern border.
The New Jersey senator’s trip to Mexico comes as the situation at the border has gained notoriety for the conditions at migrant detention centers.
“Cory observed the crossing, their interactions with federal immigration authorities, and the disastrous impact of President Trump’s cruel immigration policy as the migrants attempted to avoid the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) implemented by the Trump administration,” an email from his campaign said.
Booker helped five women make it to a U.S. shelter and not a detention center, according to Andrew Kimmel. Those women were originally sent back to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols, and Booker told reporters Wednesday that his office intends on keeping in touch with them.
“…I’m gonna fight for these five folks and do everything I can to see that they get fairly evaluated. This is a long process that they’re now engaged in and I’m gonna make sure my office does the right thing…” @SenBooker upon arriving across the border pic.twitter.com/PuFbu7p18d
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 3, 2019
“I disagree with this idea that our asylum system is too broad,” Booker told reporters Wednesday, adding that President Trump has created “a human rights crisis and an American values crisis” with his execution of immigration policies and executive actions.
On Tuesday, Booker unveiled his immigration plan, which seeks in part to “virtually eliminate” immigration detention centers. It would also undo the Trump administration’s removal of protection for Dreamers, undo the “Muslim ban,” and limit the amount of time a migrant could be detained.
HAPPENING NOW: @SenBooker escorts victims of abuse seeking asylum across the Santa Fe bridge from Juárez, Mexico to El Paso, TX. The asylum seekers were sent back to Mexico under the MPP program. They have asked for their identities to be protected. @CoryBooker pic.twitter.com/FKXcIZAmHC
— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) July 3, 2019
Despite the sweeping changes he would supposedly make to the immigration system, Booker still disagrees with his Democratic primary rival Julián Castro on repealing the federal law that makes unauthorized entry into the U.S. a crime. “I didn’t see anything today that changed my opinion,” Booker stated.
