Dem Rep. Smith: Many of Us Oppose Fixing ‘Wide Open’ Asylum Laws Unless We Get Protections for Illegals
On Thursday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) stated that strengthening asylum laws that were “wide open” is something many Democrats wouldn’t do by itself because they fear that they wouldn’t get protections for some people in the country illegally if they did so.
After Smith talked about putting together a comprehensive deal and said that “the asylum laws were wide open, and people took advantage of that.” Host Chris Cuomo asked, “[B]ut why does it have to be that kind of compromise? Because the idea of making it comprehensive has become some kind of rule. Why? Why not break it apart? Why not change the asylum standards to recognize the reality that economic distress is not asylum, not under the 1980 fix that Reagan did for the international treaty, not under anybody’s law? That’s why 90% of the cases, you lose. Why not just fix that as a stand-alone?”
Smith responded, “I would be okay with doing that. A lot of my fellow Democrats would not. And I’m not unsympathetic, because what they’re saying is, look, you’re never going to address the issue of protecting the undocumented population, you’re not going to put in adequate protections for refugees, for people with Temporary [Protected Status] –.”
Cuomo then cut in to say Democrats didn’t do that when they controlled Congress and the White House under President Barack Obama, and Smith responded that there isn’t a clear consensus in Congress.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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