HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer defended fellow Democrats on Wednesday who disagreed with President Donald Trump’s State of the Union remarks on protecting Americans over illegal immigrants.
Trump asked lawmakers during his address to stand if they believe that the government’s primary duty is to protect citizens over illegal immigrants. Many Democrats remained seated.
“Yes, we want to protect Americans. He’s not doing it … So, it was legitimate and right,” Schumer said during a CNN interview.
The president said during his address that officials in “sanctuary” cities are stopping his administration from deporting immigrant murderers and drug lords. Schumer accused immigration law enforcement of instead violating Americans’ rights and killing some of them.
“By his reckless ICE agency in Minnesota, two Americans were killed. Americans are being pulled out of their cars and beaten. Americans’ houses – the doors are being knocked down, you know, without a warrant,” the senator said.
“And no other police department in America, run by Americans, has done what ICE has done.”
Some Democrats heckled Trump about immigration enforcement during the State of the Union. Representative Rashida Tlaib, who was wearing a “Fuck ICE” button, shouted that Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse killed by Border Patrol agents during a confrontation last month, wasn’t a criminal. Representative Ilhan Omar, who sat next to Tlaib, repeatedly yelled that the president was killing Americans.
Trump portrayed himself as one of the country’s protectors during his address. He and other Republicans are preventing illegal immigrants from harming Americans, the president said, and have created the most secure border in the history of the United States.
“We can never forget that many in this room not only allowed the border invasion to happen before I got involved, but indeed, they would do it all over again if they ever had the chance,” Trump asserted.
“If they ever got elected, they would open up those borders to some of the worst criminals anywhere in the world.”
“The only thing standing between Americans and a wide-open border right now is President Donald J. Trump and our great Republican patriots in Congress,” he added.
Many Republican lawmakers are vulnerable in the upcoming midterm elections, and their association with Trump’s immigration policies may contribute to their weaker standing. A poll conducted by ABC News, the Washington Post and market research firm Ipsos this month found that 40% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of immigration, a traditionally strong political issue for the GOP.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.
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