Sen. Rand Paul Explains Exit from Undocumented Immigrants, Rep. Steve King DACA Confrontation
A video of two undocumented immigrants confronting Rep. Steve King, R-IA, went viral, but one notable aspect of the meeting is Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, leaving the situation.
The two undocumented immigrants, who are still in the U.S. due to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, met with King and Paul at a fundraiser event in Okoboji, Iowa. The two undocumented immigrants, Erika Andiola and Cesar Vargas, introduce themselves as DREAMers. Paul, after biting into his hamburger, promptly left the scene as the DREAMers continue to talk to King.
During an appearance on "On The Record" with Greta van Susteren, Paul explained his reasons for leaving the confrontation.
Paul said, "About five minutes before that, or two minutes before that, the video doesn't show that another reporter came up and said, 'will you do an interview?' And I said, 'I need to take a couple more bites and we'll do an interview.' And then I was told we had to leave and I had to do the interview, so actually, I stand about 10 feet from those people who were doing some sort of a kamikaze interview, and I stood 10 feet from them and did another interview."
"I've always been open to discussing immigration," added Paul.
"I'm very open to discussing that I think there should be some kind of immigration reform, but I don't think you can do it without first securing the border, and that's the problem with the president doing this unlawfully," continued Paul.
In a tweet by Andiola, she said Paul had no courage. In addition, she questioned his ability to run for president if he couldn't stay for her talk with King.
"I think he needs to think twice before showing up [with] Steve King," added Andiola.
It isn't the first time this week Paul has been criticized. Paul has previously introduced legislation that would cut federal aid to foreign countries, including Israel.
In an interview with CNN in 2011, anchor Wolf Blitzer asked, "All right, so just to be precise, end all foreign aid including the foreign aid to Israel as well. Is that right?
"Yes," replied Paul.
Now in 2014, Paul's office issued a statement clarifying his position on Israel.
"Senator Rand Paul has never proposed any legislation that targeted Israel's aid and just last week voted to continue and increase funding to the State of Israel. Sen. Paul is a strong supporter of the Jewish state of Israel," a statement from his office said. "In 2011, Sen. Paul proposed a budget resolution that did not include certain foreign assistance programs in an effort to balance the budget in five years."
Paul's office also made clear he included budget proposals to give foreign assistance to Israel worth up to $5 billion.
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