Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton sparred during their latest Democratic debate over immigration Wednesday night, just days prior to a crucial contest in Florida.
However, the two directed their biggest strikes toward Donald Trump the front-runner of the Republican race.
Sanders and Clinton, competing to win the Hispanic vote in next Tuesday’s primary in Florida where 25% of the population is Hispanic, promised they would deport only the undocumented immigrants that had criminal records and would not deport children.
Sanders said immigration reform in the U.S. was a hot debate and he hopes a debate would continue and not resort to xenophobia or racism and bigotry as have done Trump and others.
Sanders added that the idea of taking all 11 million undocumented immigrants out of the country was absurd and vulgar and he hoped very few people supported that idea in the U.S.
Floridians vote next week in both the Republican and Democratic primaries in a state that is rich in delegates and that both candidates need to help ensure their nomination this summer.
Trump and Republican Party rivals for the nomination Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich will have their pre-primary debate Thursday night in Miami.
Florida with a preponderance of Cuban-Americans and Hispanics from other nations recently has seen a big influx of people from Puerto Rico fleeing the economic downturn in the U.S. Caribbean commonwealth.
Clinton and Sanders spent a great deal of their time during their debate directing their attention to Hispanics in Florida and the Hispanic audience watching at home.
Both have promised to have a much less aggressive approach to deportation that the current White House administration.
Clinton said comprehensive immigration reform is needed but there also needs to be a stop in round ups, raids and the deporting of those living in the U.S. doing their jobs and carrying out their lives.
