Univision anchor Jorge Ramos grilled Hillary Clinton for a commitment that she would not deport children during Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, asking her to clarify her stance nearly a half-dozen times.
Ramos started by playing a clip from an earlier interview he had done with Clinton where he asked if she would be the next “deporter-in-chief” as President. He noted that she twice declined to say she would not deport children.
“So if you really don’t want to be the next deporter-in-chief, can you promise tonight that you won’t deport children and that you won’t deport immigrants who don’t have a criminal record and this time, could I get a yes or no answer?” He asked.
“Yes, you can, because the question you were asking me were about children seeking asylum,” Clinton replied. “And we have laws. That was the most critical thing I said. Under our laws. I would like to see those laws changed.”
She also said would prioritize deporting “violent criminals, terrorists, and anyone who threatens our safety” and she does not share the same policy views as the Obama administration.
“But again, yes or no. Can you promise tonight that you won’t deport children who are already here?” Ramos asked again.
“I will not deport children. I would not deport children I do not want to deport family members either, Jorge,” Clinton said. “As I said, I want to prioritize who would be deported. Violent criminals, people planning terrorist attacks, anybody who threatens us. That’s a relatively small universe.”
But Ramos wasn’t satisfied. He responded, “So I want to be very specific. So you’re telling us tonight that if you become President, you won’t deport children who are already here?”
“I will not,” Clinton said.
“And that you won’t deport immigrants who don’t have a criminal record?” Ramos asked.
“That’s what I’m telling you. Now I don’t – because I’m not contradicting what I told you in the interview. Asylum is a particular legal process. I’d like to see it changed,” she said.
“So you will stop those deportations –” Ramos replied.
“I would stop –” Clinton began.
“The deportations for children and those who don’t have a criminal record,” he finished.
“Of the undocumented people living in our country, I do not want to see them deported. I want to see them on a path to citizenship. That’s is exactly what I will do,” Clinton said.
