Joaquin Castro: Democrats are ‘pushing for full-fledged citizenship’

By Griselda Nevarez, Voxxi

During an interview Thursday, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) insisted that Democrats will continue pushing for an immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants instead of the path to legal status that Republicans prefer.

“We’re pushing for full-fledged citizenship,” he told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner. “That’s what we’re sticking to on our side.”

Joining him in the interview was his brother San Antonia Mayor Julian Castro, who agreed that a path to citizenship must be included in any immigration reform proposal. Julian Castro said it would be “unprecedented in American history for us to create a permanent class of folks who are not citizens.”

“We want in the United States for folks to be fully invested in our nation, to swear an oath and allegiance to our flag and to be on the same level as everyone else,” the San Antonia Mayor said.

Their remarks come after some House Republican leaders — like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) — haveindicated that the GOP could support legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to gain a legal status, instead of citizenship.

A large number of Republicans oppose a path to citizenship while most Democrats oppose legislation that falls short of a path to citizenship.

But there are a few Democrats, including Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, who have said they would vote for legislation that offers undocumented immigrants a chance to gain a legal status. They argue this type of legislation has a better chance of passing in the GOP-controlled House.

Some immigration reform advocates, like Dreamer Jose Patiño, have also come out in support of legislation that only offers a path to legal status. In an op-ed for VOXXI, Patiño said such legislation would offer undocumented immigrants relief from deportations, the ability to work legally and get driver’s licenses, and the freedom to visit their native country.

“The reality is that my community cannot afford an all or nothing hardline on citizenship,” the 25-year-old Dreamer said in the op-ed.

Julian Castro acknowledged during Thursday’s interview that legislation with a path to legal status is “better than nothing.” However, he said that option is only “a short-term fix as opposed to a long-term fix.”

The Castro brothers concluded the interview speaking about how they think President Barack Obama could be doing more to stop deportations. They agreed that the president could extend deferred action to more groups of undocumented immigrants, such as domestic violence victims or workers whose civil rights or labor rights are violated.

“I think because Congress has not acted on this issue, which it should have already, you will see Democrats and hopefully some Republicans press the president and the executive branch on that issue in 2014,” Joaquin Castro said.

This article was originally published in Voxxi.

Griselda, a native of Mexico, has a journalism degree from Arizona State University. Previously, she was sponsored by the Scripps Howard Foundation to intern with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C. She has contributed to various news outlets across the country.