Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ No 2020 presidential candidate has been more progressive on immigration issues than @JulianCastro.

During the presidential primary debates Thursday, he again hit Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden for Barack Obama’s record on immigration enforcement. bit.ly/2LzKYAf

@JulianCastro 2/ But @JulianCastro, who also served under President Barack Obama, hasn’t always been a liberal darling on these issues.

In 2013, he said he was pleased about proposals for stronger interior enforcement and endorsed more “boots on the ground."

bit.ly/2LzKYAf

3/ @JulianCastro's spokesman said he was not giving his blessing to Obama’s most controversial policies.

"He was applauding the administration’s effort to prioritize immigration enforcement, not their efforts to deport mass numbers of immigrants."
bit.ly/2LzKYAf

4/ But shortly after criticism of Obama by some Latino groups a year later, Castro said he wasn’t “comfortable” with the number of deportations under Obama.

At the time, Castro wasn’t a member of Obama’s administration.
bit.ly/2LzKYAf

5/ Fast forward to 2019, and Castro’s plan for immigration reform has become his signature issue on the trail.

The main component includes repealing part of U.S. immigration law, Section 1325, which deals with unauthorized border crossings. bit.ly/2LzKYAf

6/6 Some immigration experts say Castro’s change is emblematic of how Democrats are running to the left of their party’s base.

Others say Castro needs to “make sense” of what he said in 2013.

Read more here: bit.ly/2LzKYAf