Mike Pence has always described himself as a Christian, first and foremost, before being a conservative and a Republican. Somehow, it's through that twisted frame that Mike Pence took it upon himself to usurp authority he doesn't actually have and ban Syrian refugees, with their horrific war-torn reality, from resettling in Indiana. Not only was it inhumane, it violated federal law, a federal appeals court found Monday, upholding the ruling of a lower court.
Pence's fear-mongering about Syrian refugees, which the ruling labeled "nightmare speculation," is a perfect fit for the foundation of Donald Trump's entire nativist-fueled candidacy, which has cruelly targeted refugees, undocumented immigrants, and DREAMers.
Pence also signed on to the GOP-led lawsuit that has indefinitely stalled deportation relief for up to 5 million DREAM activists and undocumented parents of American-born children. In fact, Pence has taken a particularly repulsive approach to DREAMers, in particular, who were brought here as minors by their parents, saying:
We should not reward people with citizenship whose first act in this country was a violation of the law.
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Apparently being relocated by your parents was their "first act," because they had agency in that situation. As a member of Congress, Pence was also an early adopter of "report to deport," a policy requiring the undocumented to first return to their countries of origin before applying for a guest worker program.
The immigration group America's Voice has a couple of key questions for Pence during tonight's debate.
1) You have said you will immediately end President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, including the DACA program that currently protects 750,000 young people commonly referred to as DREAMers from deportation. Would you subject them to deportation?
2) Polls consistently show that by a 3-1 margin Americans believe undocumented immigrants should be able to gain legal status by meeting certain criteria, rather than be deported. Why do you support the deportation of most of these people, especially given the multiple reports that doing so would cause significant damage to the economy and impose significant costs on the federal government?
Here's another good one: How on earth is it Christian, in your view, to ban refugees who are facing unimaginable violence and living conditions in their country from taking shelter with the borders of your state?