GOP Senate Candidate Defends Separating Children From Parents Who Enter U.S. Illegally
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta knows he's in an uphill battle against U.S. Sen. Bob Casey whose name is synonymous with Pennsylvania politics.
But Barletta says Casey is not the man he used to be.
"He doesn't represent the people of Pennsylvania any longer. He did, when he was first elected, but he has moved so far left that his voting record is the same as Elizabeth Warren's," Barletta told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Friday.
Warren is the U.S. senator from Massachusetts.
"He no longer represents people here. He represents liberal California, liberal Massachusetts," says the Republican nominee for Senate. "He was a moderate. He's a radical left senator."
Barletta, a congressman from Hazleton in northeastern Pennsylvania, is best known for his tough stance against illegal immigration, so Jon Delano asked, "Congressman, should children be separated from their parents when they enter this country illegally?"
That's the policy of the Trump administration, which says it's only enforcing a law that President Obama refused to enforce.
Barletta defends the policy of separation.
"In America, we have laws. Should you or I commit a criminal act this afternoon after we're done with this interview, we're going to be separated from our families," he said. "So the laws of the country state that when you commit a criminal offense, children, you will be separated during the custody. I don't think we should have separate laws for people who come in the country illegally and other laws for American citizens."
Barletta says separating the children acts as a deterrent to illegal immigrants, and he wouldn't change it.
"Remember, why people come to the country illegally is because we're not enforcing the laws. So if people knew when they came here what would happen, we would not have this situation," he said.
How big an issue this will be come November remains to be seen.
