Thread by @ConMijente

It’s time we talk about Julián Castro, the only Latinx #2020Election presidential hopeful.

We are organizers. Politicians are not going to save us, but we understand that they are talking about us, and our people, so we should engage in the policy options they put out. Todos tienen su lado flaco y su lado gordo.

It’s significant that as a Latino, he was the first candidate to release an immigration platform. And he went beyond the low hanging fruit.
vox.com/2019/4/2/18291…

El Lado Gordo - What we think is good: Castro wants to decriminalize migration. After witnessing prosecutions, and family separation at the border, Castro is calling for the removal of Section 1325, the law which has made unlawful entry a federal misdemeanor since 1929.

Castro has also proposed removing immigration courts from the Department of Justice, and the attorney general’s power. Castro would turn immigration courts into “Article I” courts, similar to the Tax or Military Appeals court.

The National Association of Immigration Judges accused the DOJ of “stripping cases away” from judges “based on the administration's desired outcome.” The judges also said keeping immigrations courts under the DOJ is an "underlying structural flaw." aila.org/advo-media/pre…

Castro has also proposed ending the use of private prisons and only locking people up in the most serious cases. In other words, he’s not abolishing ICE.

And now for the bad and unclear: Castro wants to eliminate for-profit prisons but unclear what he wants to do instead. The best alternative to detention is freedom and a civil process that folks can go through without incarceration, ankle monitors or surveillance.

Castro only talks about Section 1325. But what about Section 1326, which makes it a crime to enter the U.S. after you’ve been deported and can be punished with federal prison sentences.

Castro also wants to “properly equip and modernize our ports of entry.” This is a talking point that is used to justify investment in technology at the border.

There is a lot we are still analyzing. These are just a few of the things that we wanted to highlight from Castro’s agenda. We just want candidates to know that as they release their agendas, we are watching.

Follow #ElChisme2020 for more of our political explainers from a Latinx perspective towards the 2020 elections.