Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley channeled the Christmas spirit when he blasted plans to deport immigrant families. The former governor of Maryland took to Twitter today to say, “Remember: Jesus was a refugee child who fled death gangs.”
Tweeting at the Department of Homeland Security, O’Malley referred to reports that the DHS is preparing to begin raids targeting Central American families that surged across the border. Fleeing from extreme violence, more than 100,000 families crossed into the United States through the Southern borders.
“Holiday plans for raids to round up/deport Central American refugees fleeing death are wrong. We are a better nation than this,” he added in another tweet.
The “Christmas Refugee Roundup,” as O’Malley referred to it as, has received backlash from other Democratic hopefuls as well. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders blasted the plans to target parents and children.
“I am very disturbed by reports that the government may commence raids to deport families who have fled here to escape violence in Central America,” he said in a statement.
Xochitl Hinojosa spoke for the Hillary Clinton campaign, saying “Hillary Clinton has real concerns about these reports, especially during this holiday season.”
Despite this statement, Clinton has recently taken a more conservative position regarding unaccompanied minors. In a 2014 CNN town hall, Clinton said, “they should be sent back as soon as it can be determined who responsible adults in their families are, because there are concerns whether all of them should be sent back."
Martin O’Malley may hope his words resonate with voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey found that, if primaries were held in their state, 46 percent favored Clinton and 30 percent voted for Sanders, while O’Malley came in at 7 percent.