Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is “going to continue to play identity politics,” hammering Mrs. Clinton over comments the 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner made about immigration in the first national television interview of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign.
“I think it’s vintage Clinton that she would equate not supporting a pathway to citizenship for those who have come here and stayed here illegally — I certainly do not, and never have — that she would equate that with hostility to immigration,” Ms. Fiorina said Wednesday on “Fox and Friends.” “That’s simply false. But of course, it serves her political narrative, which is to continue the Democrat playbook of identity politics, lump Americans into various identity groups, make them victims, pit one identity group against another.”
In the interview with CNN, Mrs. Clinton said she was “disappointed” with real estate mogul and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump for his comments about Mexicans and with the Republican party for not responding immediately to the remarks.
“But they are all in the same general area on immigration,” Mrs. Clinton said. “They don’t want to provide a path to citizenship; they range across a spectrum of being either grudgingly welcome or hostile toward immigrants.”
Mrs. Clinton also blamed the city of San Francisco for the recent case of an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times and was charged this week with murdering a 32-year-old woman. The city has a policy stopping local law enforcement from complying with federal immigration detainers unless the person in custody has been convicted of a violent crime.
“The city made a mistake, not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported,” Mrs. Clinton said said. “I have absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on.”
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Ms. Fiorina said sanctuary cities “are a travesty of our justice system.”
“But the truth is this: Sanctuary cities existed under a Republican administration as well, and I think one of the reasons that people are really tired of professional politicians — 82 percent of the American people now think we have a professional political class — is everybody talks about solving problems, particularly at election time, but somehow the problems don’t get solved,” Ms. Fiorina said. “We need our federal immigration laws enforced in every single city, including San Francisco. It’s shameful that sanctuary cities exist. Of course we are welcoming to immigrants, legal immigrants. This country was built on immigration.
“But Hillary Clinton is going to continue to play identity politics, continue to try and run away from accountability for anything and everything she has ever done or not done,” she said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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