Immigration reform has been a major issue during this year’s election season. And both candidates vying for retiring U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s seat addressed this issue during the only debate so far for that race.
Reno Public Radio’s Noah Glick reports.
Republican Joe Heck and Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto both say they support immigration reform—but specifics were hard to come by at the first and only debate between the two, hosted by KLAS-TV and Univision in Las Vegas.
Tsi-Tsi-Ki Félix with Univision was one of the moderators.
“We hear a lot of general statements, such as ‘Bring people out of the shadows,’ and ‘Keep families together,’ but not a lot of specifics,” she said.
She went on to ask the candidates for concrete policy recommendations.
Here’s the response from Cortez Masto, who says immigrants contribute to the economy.
“It is about ensuring that we put them on a tough but fair path to citizenship,” Masto said. “It is bringing them out of the shadows. It is ensuring they have that opportunity to have a job and not worry about being deported.”
Her opponent, Joe Heck said that he would prioritize reforming legal immigration channels over border security.
“Let’s develop a robust guest worker program that meets the unmet demands here in the United States, while not disenfranchising unemployed Americans—both unskilled and high tech.”
He adds, “We have critical needs.”
Both candidates also stressed that they are grandchildren of immigrants, with Heck’s family from Italy and Cortez Masto’s from Mexico.
