This Democrat shows how out of practice his party is at defending immigrants
I do remember what the lawmaker said in the summer of 2014. That's when the Obama administration gave a rude reception to more than 80,000 Central American refugees, mostly women and children.
About 575 children between the ages of 13 and 17 were held, in spartan quarters and without legal counsel, in a federal detention facility in Southern California. A group of Latino legislators, including de Leon, toured the compound.
Then-state Sen. Norma Torres, a Democrat who hails from Guatemala and now serves in Congress, was moved and declared the situation a "humanitarian crisis."
De Leon also appeared to have been moved, by the political expediency of not criticizing a Democratic president. After the visit, in a conference call with reporters, de Leon played the good soldier.
"Collectively, we came to the conclusion that we are quite satisfied with the conditions," he said.
You see, in the Trump era, if Kevin de Leon seems clumsy in defending immigrants and refugees, you should cut him some slack. It's all new to him.
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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.
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