Lawmaker fights back against Trump’s immigration removal plans


Listen To Story Above

During a recent episode of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” Democratic Representative Robert Garcia from California took a firm stance against potential deportation efforts proposed by former President Donald Trump, emphasizing the need for resistance even under the threat of prosecution.

The conversation began when host Joy Reid addressed Trump’s apparent strategy targeting blue states, asking Garcia about California’s potential response to deportation initiatives that could see immigrants being forcibly removed from restaurants and schools.

“We have to,” Garcia declared. “This is about our values as a people. I’m an immigrant myself. This idea that, now, as an American, that is born in the United States is not an American because a parent might be undocumented or a parent is on a visa that is a legal visa, by the way, if you’re born in this country, you’re an American. If you’ve been here for ten, 20 years and you’ve worked hard, you’re in the back of our favorite restaurant, you’re working in a small business, you are part of our country.”

Garcia, reflecting on the gravity of the situation, emphasized that this moment requires deep introspection about American values and humanity. He characterized Trump’s approach as dangerous and rejected the notion of compromise with Republicans on immigration reform, arguing that such collaboration would be counterproductive.

“So, this is, I think, a moment, like you said, that, as a community, and as a country, we have to look deep inside and think, who are we? Are we going to be good people? Are we going to be humane people? Are we going to be true patriots that believe that all of us are part of this country, we all helped build this country? I think what Donald Trump is doing is dangerous, but we’ve got to fight back. This is not a moment to work with Donald Trump, to work with the Republicans on an immigration solution. They’re going to steamroll us. We’ve got to fight like hell.”