listen I think there's no question that we've got to critically reexamine ice and its role and the way that it is being administered and the work it is doing and we need to probably think about starting from scratch because um there's a lot that is wrong with the way that it's conducting itself and we need to deal with that the issue of immigration is um is not a monolith to your to the point of your question there are a lot of very specific subsets under that heading that have to be addressed and understood in including
those young people like yourself who did not receive DACA protection and are here obviously living a productive life contributing and and and and identifying in a way that that is about wanting to stay and wanting to be protected and I'll say this first of all we've got to pass comprehensive immigration reform and that we are not but here's the thing it's not only about a goal there's no path right now for undocumented immigrants towards citizenship there's no path so we have 11 12 million people there's a argument about which go with 11 11 million people
for which there's no real path so it is irresponsible to not come up with a plan and there have been bipartisan agreements but this Administration is not going to sign any of them because we have a president of United States who has created a ition about a crisis at the border and he has held up the United States government and its workers around his vanity project called a wall the idea that he is trying to say that we have people that are trying to invade our country to commit Mass crime is a crisis of his
own making you talk with the people who take an oath to protect our border and they will tell you the trafficking that is happening of of drugs and guns coming into our country it's happening at ports of Entry we don't need a multi-billion dollar wall that wall ain't going to stop them raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants okay let me I I do not condone or and and support any any policy that is about picking up arresting and detaining um undocumented immigrants who have not committed a crime do
you have any plans to visit the Border I I'm here in Guatemala today I at some point you know it we are going to The Border we've been to the border so this whole this whole this whole thing about the Border we've been to the Border we've been to the Border you haven't been to the Border I and I haven't been to Europe and I mean I don't I don't understand the point that you're making I'm not discounting the importance of the Border well I I I mention it because even I know Republicans have certainly
come at you on this but Democratic Congressman quar as a border district has said to you and the president come you I care about person I care about what's happening at the border I'm in Guatemala because my focus is dealing with the root causes of migration but we also must of course tackle the issues that are inherent in the situation at the border and what we must do to strengthen legal Pathways for people to enter the United States uh final topic here since uh we're here in Texas I want to ask you about the Border
would you call the border secure I think that there is no question that we have to do what the president and I asked Congress to do is the first request we make pass a bill to create a pathway to citizenship we will not rest until Congress provides all dreamers with permanent protections including a pathway to citizenship Congress must create a pathway to citizenship for dreamers individuals with temporary protected status and for Farm Workers so undocumented spouses of American citizens that they will now have an expedited way to apply and not have to leave the country
to do it and not risk deportation and this protection applies to their children as well and then the second is for our young people and our dreamers and and understanding that they who have done so much and contributed and have just shown how incredible they are that they should be rewarded for that excellence and so that is what what we have done and for each population we expect that about half a million people will directly benefit
