Untitled Document

[00:00:00] How do each of you assess the recent [00:00:03] immigration enforcement operations [00:00:04] across the country? Governor Meyer, [00:00:06] >> listen, as far as Delawarians are [00:00:08] concerned, ICE has lost credibility. [00:00:11] It's hard for ICE to operate anywhere in [00:00:14] our state without it creating some [00:00:16] crisis and in fact making Delawarians [00:00:19] less safe simply by wearing that [00:00:21] uniform. Now, because of things that [00:00:23] have happened in Minnesota and other [00:00:25] areas across the country, it's creating [00:00:27] a lack of safety. officers with uniforms [00:00:29] were sent into places where they did not [00:00:32] respect due process or basic human [00:00:34] rights. They did not seem to have [00:00:36] training in antibbias and in 21st [00:00:39] century policing, things that every [00:00:40] police officer in Delaware gets and most [00:00:43] police officers around the country get. [00:00:44] So, it's very hard for ICE to have any [00:00:46] credibility. Having said that, I think [00:00:48] there's common ground. I think if [00:00:49] Governor Armstrong and I sit down and [00:00:51] talk about immigration, which we have [00:00:53] not done, I think there's a lot of [00:00:54] common ground about having a secure [00:00:56] border, about having a sane and [00:00:59] efficient immigration process. I think I [00:01:02] heard you talk, Governor Armstrong, [00:01:03] about making sure that immigration [00:01:05] policies move quickly, that visas that [00:01:08] that you know work for that the [00:01:10] workforce needs take 18 months, 24 [00:01:12] months, 36 months. With today's [00:01:14] technology, they should take days or [00:01:16] even hours. I think there's a lot of [00:01:17] common ground there. [00:01:18] >> Yeah. USA Today wrote this week, [00:01:21] "Immigration enforcement takes center [00:01:23] stage at state level. While Republican [00:01:25] le states are following the White [00:01:27] House's lead on immigration enforcement, [00:01:29] Democratic le ones are aiming to reign [00:01:31] in the feds. Would you agree with that, [00:01:34] >> Governor Armstrong?" [00:01:35] >> Yeah, I mean I we've we've worked with [00:01:37] them in North Dakota and we our local [00:01:39] law enforcement cooperates and we don't [00:01:41] have any of those issues. I you might [00:01:43] not like the tactics, but federal [00:01:46] immigration enforcement is a federal [00:01:48] issue. Like even I mean I 10 of my first [00:01:51] 20 cases as a public defender in federal [00:01:53] court were illegal re-entry cases. So [00:01:56] you it is there are a lot of things I [00:01:58] think the feds overstep on in a lot of [00:02:00] ways as governor. But one of the ways [00:02:02] they don't is enforcement of [00:02:04] immigration. I mean that is a federal [00:02:06] issue. Now, I think and when you're [00:02:08] talking about immigration policy, I was [00:02:10] on the immigration subcommittee my first [00:02:12] two years here. We haven't passed any [00:02:14] immigration laws since 1986, [00:02:16] but it's slower to get an H2A visa now [00:02:19] than it was 10 years ago. It's slower to [00:02:21] get an H-1B. You could those are things [00:02:23] I think everybody could agree on. And [00:02:25] you don't have to change a single thing [00:02:26] of law and you don't have to change a [00:02:28] single thing of policy because it hasn't [00:02:29] changed yet, but it gets significantly [00:02:31] slower. [00:02:32] >> Well, explain for the two of you for [00:02:34] your states how important those visas [00:02:35] are. We're talking about legal [00:02:37] immigration there. [00:02:38] >> Farm labor, H2A. It's I mean, even when [00:02:40] I was in Congress, it was either [00:02:42] veterans benefits or immigration cases [00:02:44] that were our number one constituent [00:02:46] services, right? We just need the work. [00:02:48] I mean, rural hospitals for lab techs [00:02:50] and nurses. And I think that's what's [00:02:52] really really frustrating from our [00:02:54] standpoint is we haven't changed the law [00:02:57] at all, but it's gotten slower and more [00:02:59] clumbersome. And that shouldn't happen [00:03:01] with increase in technology. [00:03:02] >> Yeah. when the the when the visas don't [00:03:04] come through on time, that increases [00:03:06] employers costs, which ultimately [00:03:08] increases the cost to the customer. I [00:03:11] know that Governor Armstrong and I are [00:03:12] both working hard in our respective [00:03:14] states to keep costs down, make sure [00:03:16] life is affordable, and when employers [00:03:18] cannot get the workforce that they need, [00:03:20] workforce that they know is readily [00:03:22] available, ready to work, when [00:03:23] government stands in the way, it's worse [00:03:25] for all of us. What are