Harris sidesteps health care for illegal immigrants at Univision town hall – Washington Examiner

Harris’ stance on the matter came under scrutiny after her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), claimed last weekend that the vice president supported his policy of allowing illegal immigrants to hold driver’s licenses in Minnesota, the Free State University does not charge tuition and has a free healthcare program for low-income residents.

“Do you have any plans to support this subset of immigrants who have lived here all or most of their lives and have to live and die in the shadows?” Harris was asked by Univision town hall attendee Ivett Castillo.

Castillo, of Nevada, previously told Harris that her Mexican-born mother died six weeks ago “but was never able to receive the type of care and service she needed or deserved.”

In her response, Harris noted the United States’ “broken immigration system” and criticized Republicans for not supporting a border security law they negotiated this spring because of former President Donald Trump, but did not directly answer Castillo’s question.

“Had your mother been able to obtain citizenship, she would have been eligible for health care that may have alleviated her suffering and yours,” Harris told Castillo. “This is an example that there are real people who suffer from the inability to present solutions to politicians.”

In response to a later question, Harris said health care should be a “right.”

During her 2020 campaign, Harris supported illegal immigrants who benefited from her sponsored Medicare for All law. President Joe Biden’s original immigration law aimed to create more pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants but was not taken up by Congress.

Harris has given more media interviews and agreed to take part in more media appearances to ease voters’ concerns that they don’t know her well enough to cast a vote for her a month before the election.

The audience who watched Thursday’s town hall in either English or Spanish also got to see for themselves how she responded to criticism surrounding how she was named the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee this summer. The question highlighted Harris’ general difficulty distancing herself from Biden, as polls suggest she is at odds with Trump four weeks before Election Day.

Mario Sigbaum of California told Harris through interpreters that he was “concerned” about how Biden was “pushed aside” by the Democratic Party in July, following his debate appearance the month before and polls that suggested Trump could win in November. were “pushed aside”.

“Thank you for being so open and allowing me to answer the question,” Harris said. “He and I have served as his presidential partners for the past four years as his vice president, and I am honored to have received the Democratic nomination. It is an honor to receive the support of people from all walks of life. You’ll probably find that I probably have a larger coalition of people who couldn’t seem to be more different who have come together around my candidacy.”

The final question Harris asked came from another California voter, Teresa Djedjro, who asked the vice president, who has called for restoring civility in politics, to name three of Trump’s most redeeming qualities.

“I think Donald Trump loves his family, and I think that’s very important,” Harris said. “But I don’t really know him, to be honest, I only met him once on the debate stage. I’d never met him before, so I don’t really have much else to offer you.”

The town hall is not only part of Harris’ media strategy, but also part of her open outreach to minority voters, particularly Latinos and black men, who are increasingly supporting Trump. Although Trump doesn’t need to win a majority of minority voters on November 5, he can help Harris lose by hurting her appeal among key demographics.

“We show how Harris can keep up with Trump among Latino voters,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion Washington Examiner earlier on Thursday.

By comparison, Biden and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had a lead of more than 30 percentage points over Trump in their respective elections against him.

“Latinos are clearly a vulnerability for them, hence City Hall,” Miringoff said.

In response to a question from a reporter accompanying her on her Sun Belt swing about the importance of Latino voters, Harris compared herself and Biden to Trump.

“Donald Trump has shown that he is someone who seeks to divide us as a nation, to demean people and insult people, and that is not a reflection of the character of someone we want as president of the United States.” ” she said after the town hall on the tarmac of Harry Reid International Airport. “We have so much more in common than what divides us as Americans, and I think it is in everyone’s best interest to have a leader who measures his strength not by who he knocks down, but by who he lifts up. “And that’s the kind of president I want to be.”

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As the Democratic candidate, Harris tended not to hold town hall meetings, preferring instead to rallies. Her first was in Michigan last month with popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey. She has agreed to attend another town hall on CNN on October 23 instead of a second debate with Trump.

Trump’s Univision town hall will take place next Wednesday after being postponed due to Hurricane Milton.