Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid lashed out at Republicans and claimed the GOP's immigration polices are "no different" than Donald Trump's opinion.

During an address in the Senate, Reid first acknowledged Trump's "dishonest and distasteful" remarks about Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Last Saturday, Trump said McCain was a war hero because North Vietnamese soldiers captured him during the Vietnam War. Fellow Republican presidential candidates were quick to denounce Trump's remarks, but the GOP's response was the focus of Reid's speech.

"Republicans have been falling all over themselves to criticize Donald Trump," said Reid on Tuesday. "But it makes me wonder where were all of these same Republicans when Mr. Trump slandered millions [of immigrants]?"

As Latin Post reported, during his presidential bid announce on June 16, Trump said, "They (Mexico) are not our friend, believe me. ... The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. ... When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best. ...They are sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs and they are bringing crime, and they're rapists."

He continued, "Some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting. They are not sending us the right people. It's coming all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably from the Middle East, but we don't know because we have no protection and we have no competence. We don't know what is happening and it has got to stop and it has to stop fast."

Reid reiterated Trump's comments in the Senate. The Senate minority leader, who previously announce he will not seek another term in 2016, said Republicans were fast to condemn Trump, including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, but yet they were silent when he called immigrants rapists.

"There is an ugly truth behind that silence, and it is this: When it comes to immigration policy, there is no meaningful difference between the Republican Party and Donald Trump," Reid said.

Reid said Trump opposes a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, which fellow presidential candidates including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also oppose.

"Donald Trump wants to terminate President Obama's executive actions on immigration, tearing apart millions of families and deporting DREAMers. We have heard that before, too," Reid later added, also noting Bush, Cruz, Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's opposition.

"Those are the facts," Reid said. "When it comes to immigration policy, there is no daylight between Donald Trump and the rest of the Republican field. So while the rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls may not engage in the same repugnant rhetoric, make no mistake about it -- they are all on the same page with Donald Trump."

Reid called for the Republican presidential candidates to name at least one difference from Trump on their immigration policy stance.

Some Republican presidential candidates have spoken about Trump's remarks. Perry focused on Trump's criticism on border security. In a statement on July 16, Perry said Trump has a "fundamental misunderstanding" of border security. While Perry believes border security should be handled on a federal level, the former Texas governor acknowledged he took the initiative to enhance enforcement.

Rubio defended the slow response by Republicans toward Trump's immigration remarks. Rubio said, "I spoke out against what Donald Trump said. But we have to remember, this is a man who spent his whole life saying outrageous things."

A couple weeks after Trump's June 16 comments, Rubio issued a statement, "Trump's comments are not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive. Our next president needs to be someone who brings Americans together -- not someone who continues to divide. Our broken immigration system is something that needs to be solved, and comments like this move us further from -- not closer to -- a solution. We need leaders who offer serious solutions to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system."

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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