'A fantasy': Dem smacks down Trump nominee for 'notion' of undocumented immigrant voters
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) disagreed with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations, over a "fantasy" that Democrats support voting by undocumented immigrants.
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Kaine asked Stefanik if she believed any Democrats "are for open border and mass amnesty for illegal undocumented people."
"I think there are Democrat senators who have supported open borders," Stefanik insisted. "I think it's important to know I do stand by my rhetoric standing up for strong borders, and the American people overwhelmingly support that."
Kaine pointed out that Trump helped to kill a $25 billion bill for border security in 2018.
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"I was just part of a bipartisan deal in the last year that was significant about bipartisan border security on the border that President Trump killed," he added. "The notion that Democratic senators are for open borders and allowing illegal aliens to vote is a fantasy, and so I really appreciate the opportunity to meet with you, but now I have questions about if you'd fall for a fantasy."
"I'm going to have to ponder that."
During the recent presidential elections, Trump and now-Vice President J.D. Vance pushed the false claim that Democrats were using undocumented immigrant voters to cheat.
"When [Kamala Harris] let in millions of illegal aliens," Vance said at one rally in Michigan, "it made our communities less safe — but it did give the Democrats a lot of voters."
Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice called the claims "a lie."
"It's worth saying, once again, that the notion of widespread noncitizen voting is a lie. An urban myth. It's simply not true," he wrote last year. "And we should never tire of pointing out that cynical and aggressive political operatives are stirring these rumors for their own gain."