Hillary Clinton is moving closer to winning the Democratic nomination, but Latino voters are still up for grabs in the remaining contests and Julian Castro is hitting the trail hard in order to persuade them to vote for Clinton. This is especially important as it comes hours away from tonight crucial Univision-Washington Post Democratic debate in Miami. Castro is attacking Senator Bernie Sanders’ record on immigration.
“Bernie Sanders voted with Republicans to protect the minutemen, a hate group that used military tactics against our community. Thousands of families have been torn apart due to destructive behavior by Republicans and we cannot have a president who stands by their side,” Castro said Tuesday in a statement put out by the Clinton campaign.
The strength of Secretary Castro’s statement Tuesday could be a result of Clinton inability to cement Latinos as a constant voting bloc, which she is counting on in order to win the nomination and the presidency in November. Texas, Latinos vote closely matched Clinton’s 2-1 victory on March 1, but Sanders’ message of economic issues has found an appeal among Latinos. Latinos will play a major role in deciding the Florida, Illinois elections on March 15 and the Arizona primary on March 22.
The issue dates back to Sanders’ days in the U.S. House, when Minutemen claimed that U.S. officials were tipping off the Mexican government about their whereabouts. They won an amendment prohibiting Homeland Security officials from supplying a foreign government with information on activities of civilian groups operating in Texas, California, New Mexico or Arizona.
Sanders campaign spokeswoman Erika Andiola said Democrats who joined with Republicans to pass the amendment were told by Customs and Border Patrol that it would have no effect. “The senator did not protect the minutemen,” she said by email. “He does not think private militias are the way to police or protect borders.”
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