WASHINGTON — Last August, two young undocumented immigrants approached Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) while they were eating lunch to ask whether the lawmakers thought they should be deported. King talked to them for seven minutes. Paul, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, took a few bites of his burger and left within 30 seconds, later saying he’d had to go do an interview.
Expect a lot more interactions like that one between now and November 2016.
Immigration advocates, including young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, are planning to challenge presidential candidates as much as possible over their stance on the issue. They aim to get the politicians to firmly state what they plan to do about the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. — whether they would deport them, push for some type of immigration reform or strip away protections implemented by President Barack Obama.
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“We’re going to make sure these candidates are going to be confronted and asked these tough questions,” Reyes said.
Activists plan to challenge Democrats on their immigration stances in the coming months as well. Dreamer groups have already confronted potential 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton multiple times.
