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Klobuchar: Obama Admin 'Went Way Too Far' on Deporting Illegal Immigrants

February 16, 2020

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) said Sunday that the Obama administration "went way too far" on deporting illegal immigrants.

"I think that went way too far, yes, and I think you've seen a lot of that across our country," Klobuchar said on Face The Nation. "The question is what do we do going forward? To me the very straightforward answer is comprehensive immigration reform."

Under President Barack Obama, the United States deported three million illegal immigrants, including many who had not committed criminal offenses aside from their illegal entry.

Former vice president Joe Biden said Saturday that the administration made a "big mistake" and "we took far too long to get it right" on deportation policy.

Klobuchar's remark comes in the wake of the reemergence of a clip of her taking a more aggressive line on illegal immigration.

In a 2006 debate during her first Senate run, Klobuchar called for "order at the border" and supported building a "fence." While she supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants living in the United States, she also said they should learn English, a nonstarter for top Democrats in the party today.

The Democratic 2020 nomination fight has been marked by a sharp swing to the left on immigration policy. Two of the top five candidates in the delegate count to date, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), support decriminalizing illegal border entries.