Which Democratic Presidential candidates favored making illegal entry only a civil violation?

Question

Under Federal law, illegal entry into the United States is both a criminal violation and a civil violation. But historically, most people caught crossing the border illegally were not criminally prosecuted for illegal entry. Instead, most people just went through civil deportation proceedings. This changed under the Trump Administration, when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented a "zero tolerance policy", requiring the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute every single person caught crossing the border illegally. This resulted in large numbers of children being separated from their parents. So in the June 26 Democratic Presidential Debate, then-candidate Julián Castro proposed that section 1325 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which made illegal entry a criminal violation, be repealed:

My plan also includes getting rid of Section 1325 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, to go back to the way we used to treat this when somebody comes across the border, not to criminalize desperation, to treat that as a civil violation. And here's why it's important. We see all of this horrendous family separation. They use that law, Section 1325, to justify under the law separating little children from their families. And so I want to challenge every single candidate on this stage to support the repeal of Section 1325.... Let's be very clear. The reason that they're separating these little children from their families is that they're using Section 1325 of that act which criminalizes coming across the border to incarcerate the parents and then separate them.

Now Castro has since dropped out of the race. But my question is, which 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates supported repealing section 1325?

Answer 1

Here are the Democratic Presidential Candidates that definitely support repealing section 1325:

• Bernie Sanders: His website says “As president, Bernie will [r]epeal 8 U.S. Code Section 1325, putting border crossings on par with other forms of immigration violations, such as overstaying a visa.”
• Elizabeth Warren: Warren has long supported repealing section 1325 even before Castro proposed it in the debate, but for instance she told the Huffington Post “I agree with Secretary Castro. We should not be criminalizing mamas and babies trying to flee violence at home or trying to build a better future.”
• Andrew Yang: Yang raised his hand in the June 27 debate in response to the question “If you'd be so kind, raise your hand if you think it should be a civil offense rather than a crime to cross the border without documentation?”
• Tom Steyer: Steyer told the Washington Post “I support decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings. These matters are better handled through civil proceedings.

Here are the candidates who definitely oppose repealing it:

• Joe Biden: Biden said in the July 31 debate, “The fact of the matter is, you should be able to -- if you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It's a crime. It's a crime[.]... I have guts enough to say his plan doesn't make sense. Here's the deal. The fact of the matter is that, in fact, when people cross the border illegally, it is illegal to do it unless they're seeking asylum. People should have to get in line. That's the problem. And the only reason this particular part of the law is being abused is because of Donald Trump. We should defeat Donald Trump and end this practice.”
• Amy Klobuchar: Klobuchar told ABC News “I support different enforcement priorities and of course I'll look at the statute to see if you can make changes depending on the level of a security risk, but no I don't support open borders and simply getting rid of this statute.”
• Michael Bennet: Bennet told the Washington Post that he does not support repealing section 1325.
• John Delaney: Delaney told the Washington Post that he does not support repealing section 1325.

And here are the candidates whose position on the issue is unclear:

• Pete Buttigieg: Buttigieg has been all over the map. In the June 27 debate, in the response to the question “If you'd be so kind, raise your hand if you think it should be a civil offense rather than a crime to cross the border without documentation?”, Buttigieg raised his hand and said “Let's remember, that's not just a theoretical exercise. That criminalization, that is the basis for family separation. You do away with that, it's no longer possible.” But then shortly thereafter a Buttigieg spokesperson told the Washington Post “No, we should not repeal all criminal penalties for crossing the border unlawfully”, and in November Buttigieg told the Washington Post “We should still have criminal penalties for people who engage in fraud or who willfully evade immigration laws.” So who knows? But I’m guessing that a President Buttigieg would probably not try to repeal section 1325.
• Michael Bloomberg: Bloomberg has never addressed the issue.
• Tulsi Gabbard: Gabbard has never addressed the issue.
• Deval Patrick: Patrick has never addressed the issue.

So four support the policy, four oppose it, and four are unclear. Whew!