The latest Democratic debate allowed Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont to spar over their immigration reform policies, health care and racism, while their sharpest barbs of the night were directed at a familiar target — GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
In the hotly contested two-hour event, held at Miami Dade College in Florida and hosted by Spanish-language network Univision and carried on CNN, both candidates vowed to end the mass deportations of President Obama’s administration and also promised not to deport children, drawing a sharp contrast to Trump’s promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants if he’s elected.
“Look, in this country, immigration reform is a very hot debate,” said Sanders. “I would hope very much that as we have that debate, we do not, as Donald Trump and others have done, resort to racism and xenophobia and bigotry.”
“It will be the most beautiful, tall wall, better than the Great Wall of China.” — Hillary Clinton
Added Sanders: “His idea of suddenly one day or maybe a night rounding up 11 million people and taking them outside of this country is a vulgar, absurd idea that I would hope very few people in America support.”
While both candidates declined to label Trump a racist, Clinton mocked the billionaire’s inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric and controversial plan to build a border wall with Mexico by impersonating him: “It will be the most beautiful, tall wall, better than the Great Wall of China,” said Clinton, before concluding, “it’s just fantasy.”
Both candidates are furiously competing for Hispanic votes ahead of next Tuesday’s primary in a state where about one-fourth of the population is Latino. While Florida remains next week’s biggest prize, contests will also be held in other delegate-heavy states, including Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio.
