Bernie Sanders's newly released immigration platform could be called the anti-Trump plan. The Vermont senator and 2020 hopeful announced plans that seem to be an overhaul of the Trump administration's immigration policies and include decriminalizing the border, breaking up ICE and CBP, and providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for five years.
In the plan called "A Welcoming and Safe America for All," Sanders said he will use executive action if Congress does not enact the "commonsense immigration reforms supported by the vast majority of Americans."
"The whole point is to make immigration easier not harder, so people aren't put in a situation where people have to come here without legal status," Sanders' Latino Press Secretary Belén Sisa said.
If Sanders wins the White House, he plans to issue an immediate moratorium on deportations "until a thorough audit of current and past practices and policies is complete," according to the plan.
The senator said he will expand Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and a related measure for parents and guardians. DACA still protects about 650,000 individuals brought to the United States as children, and allows DREAMers, as DACA recipients are called, the ability to work legally. The Trump administration has said it considers DACA illegal.
Sisa, a DACA recipient herself, helped draft the policy plan. She said the team doesn't "want [immigration] to be a criminal issue. We want it to be humane issue."
"He's the only candidate that has proposed such a progressive plan for immigration," she said.
While candidates often make policy proposals on the campaign trail, many would actually need more legislative approval to enact, Jessica Bolter, a policy analyst at Migration Policy Institute said.
"Looking at the substance of the plan, it seemed like a missed opportunity to put forward a forward-thinking plan. A lot of this is focused on undoing policies," she continued.
Bolter said the plan Sanders laid out to "break up" ICE and CBP, which Sisa said involve putting those organizations under the Department of Justice, would require more legislation.
"The Department of Homeland Security was created through legislation. It would need new legislation to restructure the agencies in the ways that [Sanders] has proposed," Bolter said.
Elizabeth Warren, who like Sanders has also been holding strong near the top of 2020 Democratic presidential polls, said in her immigration policy plan that she would "reshape" ICE and CBP.
If Sanders does try to use executive action to accomplish his policy proposals, it could open up opportunities for those who disagree to bring lawsuits against the government, Senior Policy Analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center Cristobal Ramón said said.
Sanders's plan to use executive action differs from most 2020 candidates in that it is "more straightforward in terms of how he plans to implement it," Ramón said. "But policy plan through executive action may not survive the onslaught of litigation from conservative organizations," he continued.
"If Sanders were to become President, there's no doubt in my mind that conservative groups, conservative governors, and a whole host of different organizations would try to sue the implementation of these policies," he added.
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill held its first primetime hearing on Thursday. Cheddar News speaks with legal analyst Tracy Pearson, who breaks down the biggest takeaways.
Fuel and oil prices have risen almost 17 percent since May, making the national gas prices reach nearly $5 a gallon. Andrew Lipow from consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates joined Cheddar News to discuss the future of gas prices. "The biggest issue on the oil market is really events that are beyond our control, which is what is happening over in Europe," he said, regarding the ongoing Russia Ukraine war. Lipow also said he predicted gas prices to hit $5.05 and that he's focused on the Biden administration's overtures in repairing a relationship with Saudi Arabia.
March For Our Lives will be returning this weekend to Washington, DC, in the wake of the recent mass shooting seen throughout the country. Marchers include Yolanda Renee King, the only granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. She joined Cheddar News to discuss the importance of the march and activism in general. "I just think that it's so important to have these rallies because we need to demand to our leaders and politicians that they pass legislation and that and we actually need to see action," she said.
Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow, directors of 'The Big Payback,' join Cheddar News to discuss their new film, 'The Big Payback.' It premieres Saturday, June 11 at the Tribeca Festival.
President Biden proposed a new rule that would add 500,000 chargers for electric vehicles nationwide. The proposal comes amid the rapid shift to EVs with dozens of automakers announcing plans for all-electric fleets within the next decade. But with the new surge will the U.S. have the proper infrastructure to keep up? Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy.com joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. "I really think the idea of standardization is a big deal. Standardization certainly makes it much better for everybody to be able to get a charge when they need one," he said.
The House select committee investigating the January 6th riots on Capitol Hill is opening its landmark series of public hearings. Cheddar News speaks with Mike Sozan, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who explains how to follow the hearings and what to expect.
Claudia Rosenbaum, freelance reporter for Vanity Fair, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the race for Los Angeles mayor.
Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer, forced a runoff with the longtime Democratic Rep. Karen Bass, who had been the favorite in the race until an ad blitz from Caruso leaning on the city's issues with crime and homelessness.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
