Want to find the opposite of President Donald Trump? Look no further than Julián Castro. Castro stands opposite of Trump on just about every issue, with perhaps the biggest difference resting on immigration. Though given that Trump’s policies are inarguably heartless and incoherent, that isn’t too hard to do.
Castro, who is a former mayor of San Antonio and was the U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary under former President Barack Obama, doesn’t waste a lot of time dissing Trump. Instead, he puts his emphasis on his comprehensive ideas on how to help the country.
Castro doesn’t have the name recognition that many in the race do, which could be for a number of reasons; he’s among the youngest to enter the race, and he’s entered in a race of 18 candidates. He is the only Latinx Democrat going for the nomination.
1. He has an incredible and comprehensive plan for immigration reform
At this point, Castro has one of the most detailed immigration proposals of all the Democrats running for the nomination. And Castro’s ideas are no joke. He wants to decriminalize “unauthorized” border crossings, which means they’d be regarded as civil offenses.
He also wants to provide Dreamers with a path to citizenship, as well as other undocumented immigrants. Oh, and for-profit detention centers and prisons? He wants to end those, too.
This point needs to be repeated: He wants to make unauthorized border crossings a civil offense, not a criminal one. This is a huge deal for immigration reform.
2. He knows affordable housing is a crisis
At his launch rally in San Antonio, Castro described the rising cost of housing as a crisis. Specifically, he believes that rising housing costs are effectively squeezing out low-income and middle-class families.
3. He supports reparations
In a recent CNN Town Hall, Castro replied to an audience question about slavery reparations. The clip below shows the range and thought behind his answer, but perhaps the most poignant statement is this one: "I believe that we have never fully addressed in this country the original sin of slavery, and that because of that, we have never truly healed as a country.”
4. He’s passionate about climate change
Like a growing number of progressives, Castro believes climate change is a serious issue. He supports the Green New Deal. He also explicitly wants to prioritize getting the U.S. back to where it formerly stood with the Paris climate accord, which Trump famously dropped us from.
On January 12, Castro declared, “As president, my first executive order will recommit the United States to the Paris climate accord. We’re gonna say no to subsidizing big oil and say yes to passing a Green New Deal.”
5. He supports legalizing marijuana and expunging records
In a CNN Town Hall on April, 11, Castro said, "I actually support the legalization of marijuana. … On top of that we need to go back and expunge the records of people who were imprisoned because of using marijuana."
Want to read more about other Democratic long-shots running for the 2020 nomination? Check out Rep. Eric Swalwell or Mayor Pete Buttigieg next.