Republican Senate candidate Derek Dooley suggested that he supports allowing illegal migrants to stay in the United States, asserting that he is “very sensitive” to “both sides on the issue.”
When asked about amnesty and a path forward for illegal migrants, Dooley – a former college football coach who is backed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) – said, “I think, obviously, we think they should have some penalty because they came here the wrong way.”
When asked to describe the potential penalty, Dooley did not offer a concise answer, ultimately brushing it off for a debate at another time.
“That’s something we can all talk about and debate on what’s the right way – whether it’s a payment or whether it’s community service or whatever it is, but they need to pay some penalty for coming here the wrong way,” he said before making it clear that he does not want those individuals to live in constant fear of deportation.
“But I think it’s also that … I know they want to feel like that they don’t have to look over their shoulder every five minutes, you know, and worry about us taking them out of the country,” he said, adding, “and so I’m very sensitive [to] both sides on the issue.”
His position differs from that of his GOP primary challenger Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who holds anti-amnesty views. One of Collins’ hallmark pieces of legislation is the Laken Riley Act, which he authored. It requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take into custody illegal aliens “arrested, charged, or convicted for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting,” as Breitbart News detailed. It was named after 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal alien Tren de Aragua gang member, Jose Antonio Ibarra. It also happened to be the first bill President Donald Trump signed in his second term.
Collins also called out Dooley over his pro-amnesty remarks.
“The guy who has the same immigration policy as Jon Ossoff shouldn’t be who we replace Jon Ossoff with,” Collins said.
A recent poll – the first taken since Tuesday’s Georgia Republican U.S. Senate primary – shows Collins trouncing Dooley by double digits ahead of the June 16 runoff, as both Republicans hope to take Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) seat. Notably, the Democrat has been dubbed the “most vulnerable” Democrat senator up for reelection.
President Donald Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the race yet, but he has emphasized the importance of ousting Ossoff.
“It’s very important for Georgia to get a real senator because the senator they have now is a horrible senator,” Trump said last year. “Those people are great and they deserve a good senator because the man they have now is a weak, ineffective person.”
RealClearPolitics’ average shows Collins performing better against Ossoff than Dooley.
Read the full article here