Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) condemned Hillary Clinton for pandering to voters on immigration Tuesday in a speech on the Senate floor.
"I … can't imagine a more opportunist and irresponsible position than the one taken by Hillary Clinton," Cotton said and criticized Clinton for her lax stance on allowing illegal non-violent criminals into America.
"As she panders for votes, she limited deportation priorities to violent criminals and terrorists," Cotton said. "Apparently, Secretary Clinton will welcome con artists, identity thieves, and other non-violent criminal illegal immigrants with outstretched arms into our country."
He also slammed her for flip-flopping on deporting undocumented children.
"Even more astonishing, she stated unequivocally, ‘I will not deport children, I would not deport children.’ As I said, this is pure opportunism," he said, referring to Clinton’s admission at the CNN Democratic Debate Thursday that she "would not deport children" or illegal family members.
In 2014, Cotton said, Clinton held a very different position: that America should "send a clear message: just because your child gets across the border, that doesn’t mean your child gets to stay."
Cotton said that the "irresponsibility" of Clinton's stance is "even worse" than the "opportunism" that inspired it.
He said that Clinton gave illegal immigrants "a peculiar kind of hope" with her amnesty position by telling them that they could stay if they survived the dangerous journey to America.
"She didn't say, go to our embassy and seek asylum. She certainly didn't say, get on an airplane and fly safely to the U.S. Nor will she ever take such massively unpopular positions," Cotton said. "Indeed, she essentially invited you to take a life-and-death gamble. If you survive the trip, you can stay."
"How is this moral?" he said. "How is it compassionate to create incentives for such reckless behavior?"
Cotton also criticized Clinton for the effect her immigration stance would have on American families.
"The coming Clinton wave of illegal immigration will only make it harder to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and get immigration under control and working for Americans," Cotton said.