UPDATE: The 2016 National Conventions have officially come to a close, leaving two Presidential Candidates remaining — Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. For detailed information on each candidates’ stance on specific immigration issues, please see NNIRR’s Presidential Candidate Comparison Chart. As new information arises and the presidential candidates make major statements, this page will reflect these udpates.
Sec. Hillary Clinton | D-NY
Officially endorsed by the Democratic Party, Clinton is the Democratic presidential candidate. Within the first 100 days of her presidency, Clinton has vowed to introduce comprehensive immigration reform “that includes a path to citizenship and addresses all aspects of the system, from those who are already in the country to those who will come here … seeking refuge from violence” (Fox News Latino). In the same interview, Clinton also reiterated her promise to “end inhumane deportation round-ups and eliminate all arbitrary deportations”.
In a recent interview with Vox, Clinton noted that immigration reform should focus on a path to citizenship, rather than “other concerns that particularly high-value technical companies have” (Vox: July 11th, 2016). She has emphasized this point in order to direct immigration reform towards regularization of the 11 million undocumented immigrants, rather than making changes within the employment visa system that tech companies are pushing for.
In other news, following the 4-4 SCOTUS Texas V. United States ruling on June 23rd, Secretary Clinton vowed to continue support for President Obama’s executive action: DAPA and DACA+. Read her full response to the ruling here. Clinton believes that “DAPA is squarely within the president’s authority”, and has vowed to “go further than Obama” on immigration executive orders.
Throughout her campaign, Clinton has been a vocal opponent of family detention and private detention centers. She has specifically noted that if elected she will fight against the risk of deportation for immigrant populations in vulnerable situations, such as children and members of the LGBTQ+ community. To learn more about Clinton’s immigration position, please visit the articles listed below:
Hillary Clinton, On the Issues: Immigration Reform
Time, August 5th, 2016: Hillary Clinton’s Q&A at a Journalism Conference
Vice, June 28th, 2016: Everything You Need to Know About Hillary Clinton’s Immigration Plans
Clinton, December 9th, 2015: Remarks on plan to strengthen immigrant families at the National Immigrant Integration Conference in Brooklyn
Donald Trump | R- NY
On July 21st, Donald Trump officially accepted the Republican Nomination at the Republican National Convention. Read more about his formal acceptance speech after his nomination.
Regarding immigration policy, Mr. Trump has said he would repeal President Obama’s executive orders on immigration if elected. On the day of the 4-4 SCOTUS ruling on US vs. Texas, Mr. Trump tweeted: “SC has kept us safe from exec amnesty–for now. But Hillary has pledged to expand it, taking jobs from Hispanic & African-American workers” (CNN Politics).
In other news, Mr. Trump has recently retracted his call for “mass deportations” and no longer says that he will ban all Muslims from entry to the United States, see Bloomberg Politics. Instead, he has vowed to focus on deporting the “bad dudes” from the country and will bar immigrants from countries with a “history of terrorism”. While Trump has historically centered his arguments around attacking illegal immigrants, he has since declared that even legal immigrants are a threat to the US, see the Washington Post.
Additionally, he has demanded that Mexico pay for the building of a wall at the United States’ southern border, by impounding certain remittance payments” (Bloomberg Politics). To learn more about Mr. Trump’s immigration position, see the related articles below:
Donald Trump immigration position: Immigration Reform that will Make American Great Again
Bloomberg Politics, June 25th, 2016: Trump Says Muslim Ban Plan to Focus on ‘Terrorist’ Countries
(Former Candidate) Sen. Bernie Sanders | I-VT
Senator Sanders has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, see Huffington Post. Both Sanders and Clinton have expressed the desire to extend President Obama’s executive action within the first 100 days of election in order to relieve several immigrant groups (including parents of U.S. citizen children) from deportation. However, Bernie’s specific views on immigration differ from Clinton in various aspects.
Unlike Clinton, Sanders has highlighted his opposition of guest worker programs and the exploitation of migrant laborers that such programs present, see The Washington Post. Additionally, Sanders has vocalized his desire to rewrite unfair trade agreements and modernize the visa system, both of which address root causes of immigration. To learn more about Sander’s immigration position, please visit the articles listed below:
Bernie Sanders, Immigration Position: A Fair and Humane Immigration Policy
AlterNet, June 24th, 2016: Bernie Sanders’ Powerful Message for SCOTUS