Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico on Wednesday called for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants residing in the United States.
Talarico laid out his views during an interview with Fox News’s The Story in Texas, where Republicans are gearing up to begin President Donald Trump’s midterm convention: “I think we should include a pathway to citizenship for folks who have been here for years and decades, folks who don’t pose a threat to public safety.”
The Texas state representative specified that a pathway to citizenship should include “paying back taxes, learning English, and passing a criminal background check.
“If they can meet all of those standards, I think they should be eligible for citizenship,” said Talarico.
Talarico described himself as a “border security Democrat” who supports strong vetting measures to ensure that criminals do not enter the U.S.
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“We should know who’s coming into our country. It’s why I’m a border security Democrat. Let me say something a lot of Democrats won’t say,” Talarico said. “It is not racist to want to know who’s coming into your country, and I believe that, and it’s why we need to make sure that we know exactly who is coming into our country. We need to have a full, orderly vetting process to ensure that we are keeping Americans and Texans safe.”
Polls show Talarico locked in a tight contest against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in the race to succeed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this November.