Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in an interview published Tuesday that decriminalizing border crossings “is not something that should be at the top of the list” for 2020 Democrats.
“There are so many more important things to do,” the Nevada Democrat told Vice News, saying that the decriminalization of crossing the border illegally “should be way, way down at the bottom of the list.”
He added: “People want a fair immigration system. They don’t want an open-door invitation for everybody to come at once.”
Immigration has become a central issue among Democratic presidential candidates ahead of the 2020 election, with several — including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — calling for the elimination of a misdemeanor penalty that comes with entering the U.S. illegally.{mosads}
Those who illegally enter the U.S. can currently be prosecuted and sentenced to up to six months in prison, which critics such as Warren say has made the Trump administration’s family separations at the border possible.
The decriminalization push by Democratic White House hopefuls has raised concerns from former top Obama administration officials, who say the party is leaving itself vulnerable to Republican attacks in the 2020 race. Reid told Vice News that supporting decriminalization would “of course” be problematic in next year’s election.
2020 Democrats remain sharply divided on the issue, with former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former Vice President Joe Biden and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock among the list of those who say they wouldn’t support decriminalizing border crossings.