Democrats hit LA protests and immigration reform at CD7 debate

The Los Angeles protests and the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement efforts at the center of them were dominant topics among the five Democrats in the race for Congressional District 7 in Southern Arizona at their debate Tuesday night.

Adelita Grijalva, former Pima County Supervisor and the daughter of the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, expressed support for the protestors and said it was an opportunity to call for immigration reform, echoing her late father’s advocacy for more accessible paths to citizenship.

“Let’s talk about an actual process for people to go through and get their citizenship. I mean, we have people that have been waiting in this country for over 20 years…we should be the ones showing up and protesting and joining, because so many in our community that are marginalized and silenced, can’t,” she said

25-year-old candidate Deja Foxx also called Trump’s actions authoritarian, and called for the dissolution of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Let's be clear, ICE was formed in 2003. It's an agency younger than me. We will know a time after,” she said.

Former state lawmaker Daniel Hernandez made the case that Democrats in Congress are not effectively standing up to Trump’s federalization of the National Guard.

“We are seeing an executive who's running ramshad over the entire constitution. He's deciding what is legal and what is not, and no one is holding him accountable,” he said.

Hernandez has split with the other Democrats on the issue of mining, and continued his claim that mining jobs can exist alongside good environmental policies. He also said he supports Resolution Copper, the company at the center of the controversial Oak Flat land swap.

“I've said that I support all of the mining projects that are proposed in C7, and also making sure we're supporting the Resolution Copper. If we don't have these projects, the things are going to still need to be mined…it's this, not in my backyard problem that we have too often amongst Democrats, that we need these things.

Jose Malvido Jr. is an activist from Ajo, Arizona, and said the district needs more representatives who will stand against mining efforts in the region, which he says threaten the rights of indigenous people.

“I grew up in a small mining town that was known as a Superfund site. It's an asthma cluster and cancer cluster, and I've been working with many organizations, including the Indigenous Environmental Network, to address these issues,” he said.

Patrick Harris Sr. is the former owner of a cryonics nonprofit, Alcor Life Extension Foundation. He answered nearly every question with his “cap the cap” plan, a bill he’s written that would cap wealth for anyone at $1 billion. He claimed that the plan would have wide-ranging benefits, from immigration to the economy.

"Part of "cap the cap” is to build what's called a CCB, a capitated capitalism block, where member nations come together to close tax havens and stop wealth flight, and they share information. That means all the billionaires within the member nations have to reinvest trillions of dollars, lifting all those nations up so we don't need to tariff anyone,” he said.

The candidates across the board criticized the proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare in Trump’s spending package.

Hernandez said cuts to the programs are “non-negotiables,” while Grijalva focused on her argument on the programs in public schools that rely on the funding.

“Occupational therapy, speech therapy, counseling services, early interventions for our young people, those are happening there. I think we really do focus often on so many other populations. And I don't disagree with some of my colleagues, but I think it's important to note that half of the people that are going to be cut off of Medicaid are children,” she said.

Foxx continued to hit issues resonant with young voters, including abortion access.

“I support Medicare for all. I believe that healthcare is a human right, and that includes the access to reproductive care,” she said.

The debate was the last official event before the special primary election on July 15. The three Republican candidates held their debate on Monday, June 10, coverage here. The regular special election is scheduled for September 23.