The fourth Democratic Debate took place in Ohio this past Tuesday, October 17, 2019. The debate featured Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang. This list does not include all of the candidates running to be the Democratic Candidate against Trump next year, but it does represent the largest number of Democratic Presidential candidates sharing one debate stage this year.
The debate was hosted by Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and the New York Times’ Mark Lacy.
The moderators did not pose questions that explicitly addressed immagration. However, they did cover several themes over the three hour conversation that are revolve around vital issues that impact many people in the U.S. (including immigrants), such as healthcare, wealth and inequality, foreign policy, and gun violence.
You can read the full transcript of the crowded debate on the Washington Post website, but we have selected a few quotes for you from various candidates around some of the themes we think will interest you.
Economy
Bernie Sanders:
“When you have a half a million americans sleeping on the streets today […] and you also have three people owning more wealth than the bottom half of American society, that is a moral and economic outrage and the truth is we cannot afford to continue this level of income and wealth inequality.”
“Cuando tienes medio millón de estadounidenses durmiendo en las calles hoy […] y tambien tienes tres personas que tienen más dinero que la mitad de la sociedad estadounidense, eso es un atrocidad moral y económico y la verdad es que no podemos permitirnos continuar con este nivel de desigualdad de ingresos y dinero.”
Foreign Policy
Julian Castro:
“I also want people to think — the folks this week that saw those images of ISIS prisoners running free to think about how absurd it is that this president is caging kids on the border and effectively letting ISIS prisoners run free.”
“También quiero que la gente piense: la gente de esta semana que vio esas imágenes de prisioneros de ISIS corriendo libres — pensar en lo absurdo que es que este presidente está encarcelando a niños en la frontera y efectivamente dejando que los prisioneros de ISIS corran libres”.
Gun Violence
Beto O’Rourke:
“Univision surveyed [Hispanics in Texas]. More than 80 percent feared that they would be a victim of a mass terror attack like the one in El Paso that was targeted at Mexican Americans and immigrants, inspired in part by this president’s racism that he’s directed at communities like in El Paso.”
“Univision encuestó [hispanos de Texas]. Más del 80 por ciento temía que fueran víctimas de un ataque terrorista masivo como el de El Paso que estaba dirigido a mexicoamericanos e inmigrantes, inspirado en parte por el racismo del presidente que ha sugerido sobre comunidades como El Paso “.
Check back for more information and recaps of future debates. The requirements to qualify for the next debate in November can be found on the DNC website.
