Hillary Clinton on US Border Security
TL;DR
Hillary Clinton advocates for comprehensive immigration reform while also supporting enforcement, but has criticized aggressive deportation policies.
Key Points
As Secretary of State in March 2010, she visited Mexico City to discuss enhanced bilateral border cooperation, which reoriented focus toward social and economic conditions.
She accused the Obama administration of employing an "aggressive" deportation policy that broke up families during a 2015 interview with a Spanish network.
Clinton expressed opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which some border community advocates feared would negatively impact their region.
Summary
Hillary Clinton's position on US border security has been framed within a broader call for comprehensive immigration reform. During her time as Secretary of State, she participated in discussions concerning bilateral border cooperation, which included counternarcotics efforts and improving social and economic conditions in Mexico. Her approach generally supports a balance between security measures and addressing humanitarian concerns related to immigration, a position that has seen some evolution.
As a presidential contender, she voiced criticism of the previous administration's deportation policies, deeming them too harsh and destructive to families, even while acknowledging the executive branch's obligations under existing law. She pledged to review enforcement practices within her first 100 days, aiming to shift away from aggressive deportations of non-violent individuals toward more targeted enforcement and expanding relief mechanisms for undocumented immigrants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hillary Clinton has publicly stated that she believes the previous administration's deportation policies were too harsh and aggressively broke up families. She indicated that she would direct her Department of Homeland Security to review how laws were being applied upon taking office.
Yes, her position appears to have evolved, particularly regarding deportation tactics. While she previously defended the sitting president's actions as limited by law, she later criticized those same policies as overly harsh and strategically unworkable.
Details on Hillary Clinton's direct involvement in specific border security funding negotiations are not widely documented in the available sources. However, her focus has generally been on comprehensive immigration reform rather than just enforcement funding bills.
Sources3
Clinton criticizes Obama admin's deportation policies —
US-Mexico Relations
As Election Approaches, Border Towns Worry About TPP
* This is not an exhaustive list of sources.