Democratic presidential candidates are pouncing on President Donald Trump's hard-line border stance a day after a devastating image went viral, showing a father and young daughter who appeared to have drowned in the Rio Grande which flows between the U.S. and Mexico.
Julián Castro, former HUD Secretary under the Obama administration and 2020 presidential hopeful, said the image was "heartbreaking."
"It's heartbreaking because you know what they were looking for was a better life in this country," Castro told Cheddar hours before he was set to take the stage at the first Democratic debate in Miami, Florida.
The photo, shot by Julia Le Duc of the Associated Press, shows Andrés Manuel Lopez Óbrador laying dead with his 23-month-old daughter Valeria.
"I hate it," President Trump told reporters prior to departing the White House Wednesday en route to Japan for the G20 Summit.
The deaths come as the Trump administration faces new criticism for returning more than 100 migrant children to a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas that was reported to be unsanitary.
At an event in the White House on Tuesday, President Trump told reporters he is "very concerned" about the situation with detainee facilities, but claimed, "They're much better than they were under President Obama."
On Wednesday, the Senate approved bipartisan legislation which would provide $4.6 billion in aid for the migrant crisis at the border. The bill is similar to a package the House approved on Tuesday. Now the two chambers will have to work together to approve a bill which they can send to the president before the Independence Day recess.
Nevertheless, Castro says the deaths of Óscar, and his daughter, Valeria, were avoidable.
"This is preventable, and my immigration plan would end metering, and prevent situations like this," Castro said.
Castro, the only Latino running for president, has received praise for his comprehensive immigration proposal released in early April. The plan explicitly states it would end "metering" - a policy that limits the number of asylum seekers per day - as well as provide a path to naturalization for people without authorization.
"The family separations that we see today are made possible by the fact that you criminalize somebody being undocumented in this country, and I don't believe that that's the way to go," Castro added.
He referred to his proposal as a new Marshall Plan, explaining that it would guarantee safety for individuals in Central America so they do not feel the need to come to the United States in the first place.
On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is the clear frontrunner on Wednesday's debate stage, submitted a statement to HuffPost, that supported Castro's plan to make "illegal entry" a civil offense rather a federal misdemeanor.
Warren said, "We should not be criminalizing mamas and babies trying to flee violence at home or trying to build a better future."
Castro is clear as to what is a driving force behind his immigration plan: saving lives.
"We need to immediately stop denying the ability of people trying to make their asylum claim so that tragedies like the one that we saw, that happened to Óscar and Valeria, don't happen again," Castro later said.
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
After two NYPD officers were killed with an illegal gun, President Biden made a trip to New York City to speak on the issue of gun violence fed by the "iron pipeline" of illegal firearms that make their way from the South to the Big Apple. Kris Brown, the president of the gun violence prevention organization Brady United, joined Cheddar to discuss what this visit from the president could mean for the future of gun laws in America. "He's asked Congress to pass things like expanding the Brady background check system, but with the filibuster a barrier to so much action right now in the Congress, he's looking at solutions that involve funding at the federal level and really involve enforcement."
Following the surprising big beat on estimates for the January jobs report, William M. Rodgers III, vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined Cheddar News to break down the data. “We ended 2021 with a strong crescendo to a recovery that had taken hold, and we started 2022 in good fashion." He also discussed the dueling pressures of wage growth and inflation.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of the Rewired News Group and co-host of the podcast. "Boom! Lawyered," joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement, legacy and potential replacement on the Supreme Court.
The Biden administration delivered a temporary win for student loan borrowers this year by extending the moratorium on federal payments for a few more months. That moratorium is coming to an end on May 1st and borrowers will again have their monthly loan payment plopped in their lap.
Stephanie Vanderslice, a creative writing professor paying off debt through the Parent Plus program, and Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
2022 was already going to be a big year for the Supreme Court. We have decisions on major issues like abortion and gun rights on the way. Then, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement and that set up a major confirmation fight for later this year. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The Labor Department released a better-than-expected report of 467,000 jobs added in January. Heather Boushey, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden, joined Cheddar to tout the administration's handling of the economy amid the pandemic and the upward revisions for the previous month. "It also shows that, because of the revisions, the economy was stronger over the past couple of months," she said. "I don't think that this can be said enough, but economic forecasting during an historic pandemic is extremely difficult." Boushey also addressed issues involving wage growth versus the rapid rise of inflation.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
