Hispanic Dems: Next debates will ‘absolutely’ feature immigration

Hillary Clinton will bring up the topic of immigration in upcoming debates against Donald Trump, even if he decides to avoid the subject, two Hispanic members of Congress say.

{mosads}”If he doesn’t bring it up and the moderator doesn’t bring it up, I think at some point Hillary has to initiate the discussion about that because it’s gotta be done,” Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) told The Hill.

Clinton and Trump met in their first general election debate on Monday night, where the two nominees traded barbs over trade, the economy, taxes and women’s rights, but failed to address Trump’s core issue of immigration.

“It was a little weird, but at the same time, reflecting on the debate I think they were both trying to figure out, ‘What did my opponent just hand to me?’ and that kind of dictated what they came back with,” said Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.).

Trump began his campaign in June of last year by calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” who “bring crime” into the United States and proposing construction of a border wall that would be paid for by Mexico. He has since focused on the perceived dangers of immigration, from American job losses to crimes committed by immigrants.

Clinton’s immigration proposals include a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the country.

Monday’s debate tangentially touched on issues related to immigration, but was focused on three topics: “Securing America,” “America’s Direction” and “Achieving Prosperity.” 

Clinton addressed prison reform, a concern for immigration activists because of the conditions and number of people in for-profit detention centers for immigration violations.

“I was appreciative of something that’s now been extended into detention for undocumented,” said Grijalva. “It was a good point to make that Hillary made regarding for-profit prisons.”

The lawmakers said they’re certain the Trump campaign’s core issue will be directly discussed in upcoming debates.

“Trust me, it will be a topic of one of the next debates. Absolutely,” said Cárdenas.