Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) defended the widely panned government shutdown forced by Senate Democrats over immigration reform earlier this month, acknowledging his caucus did it to defend DACA recipients and calling it "the right thing to do."
There are roughly 800,000 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) recipients who were shielded from deportation by the 2012 Barack Obama executive order, which the Trump administration rescinded last year. Congress is now trying to find a legal solution for them and potentially millions of other "Dreamers," a general term for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) came under heavy criticism from the left for making a deal with Republicans to re-open the government on Monday after less than three days and not getting any measures addressing DACA recipients in the spending bill.
CBS host Nancy Cordes asked Sanders—who was among the 18 Senators caucusing with Democrats to vote down the new spending bill as well—what his side got out of the shutdown and whether it was a good strategy.
"Yes, I think from a moral perspective, it was the right thing to do, and that is to say to these 800,000 young people we are not going to allow them to be subjected to deportation," Sanders said.
While Schumer and liberal allies called it a "Trump shutdown," it was Senate Democrats who withheld all but five of their votes for the original spending bill and forced the impasse.
Sanders went on to say the passing of continuing resolutions rather than an annual budget was a "terrible" way to run the government.
Like several of the Democrats who opposed the latest stopgap spending bill, Sanders is rumored to be running for president in 2020.