Graham Touts Amnesty to Father Whose Son Killed by Illegal

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday came face to face with the father of a teenager killed by an illegal immigrant and declared it was evidence of the need for amnesty.

The father, Jamiel Shaw, asked the South Carolina Republican and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at a CNN town hall about “sanctuary” cities that fail to cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“The best way that we could honor your son would be to fix a broken immigration system.”

“The best way that we could honor your son would be to fix a broken immigration system,” said Graham, noting his participation in the Senate Gang of Eight that tried unsuccessfully to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Graham said the bill also included increased penalties for people who return after deportation and would have forbidden convicted felons from ever coming back. Speaking later to a man whose mother had been deported after a conviction on identity documents fraud charges, Graham said, “I can tell the difference between your mother and the person who killed [Shaw’s] son. Don’t you think most Americans can tell the difference?”

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For his part, McCain said he supports withholding federal funds from local jurisdictions that adopt sanctuary policies.

“We can secure our borders. We can do it through technology and drones and towers and more border patrol,” he said, before adding that “genuine immigration reform” is necessary to solve the problem.

He said illegal immigrants should face “a long, hard, tough path” to citizenship, including paying fines, back taxes, and waiting in line behind people who are trying to immigrate legally.

Referencing Trump’s comments Tuesday that he was open to compromise on immigration, Graham said “his plan for immigration is becoming more realistic.” The senator also expressed sympathy for an illegal immigrant who has sought sanctuary in a church.

“There’s a lady holed up in a church right now with two kids,” he said. “Do you want her deported? I don’t.”

Graham said the government should deport people like the man who killed Shaw’s son.

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“Identify them and kick their ass out,” he said.

Beyond immigration, McCain and Graham confirmed their reputation for never seeing a foreign conflict in which they do not want to intervene. McCain reminded the audience that he had called for a sustained presence in Libya and intervention in Syria, among other conflicts.

Graham criticized premature withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“We need more troops in Afghanistan, not less,” he said.

He added: “The best way to be safe here is to have an insurance policy there.”

Graham said robust military action in the Middle East was the ticket to U.S. security at home.

“I don’t want conflict anymore than you do, but the best way to avoid conflict is to intervene before it’s too late,” he said.

Graham also called for more nation building abroad. He criticized Trump’s proposed 30 percent cut to the State Department. He said the best way to win the war on Islamic terrorism is to build schools for girls in Afghanistan.

“If you destroy soft power … we’ll never win this war,” he said.

Asked about his “red line” regarding North Korea, McCain talked about the possibility of pre-emptive military action if the United States had indisputable evidence that the country had achieve the ability to hit the United States mainland with an intercontinental ballistic missile.

“Given the ruler of North Korea and that regime, you would have to seriously consider preventive strike,” he said.

He said the country poses “immediate danger” to the United States and added, “They do not think like us.”

Graham concurred. “Do you know anything about North Korea? This guy’s nuts,” he said.

McCain also called for a more muscular response to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“We’re not doing enough about it,” he said. “And we need to help the Ukrainians. And the first thing we could do, that President Trump could do, is give the Ukrainians defensive weapons.”

McCain did not mince words in criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he called a “KGB agent,” a “thug,” and a “killer.” He said Russia tried to change the outcome of the American election.

“If the Russians had succeeded in determining the outcome of our election, that is a deathblow to democracy,” he said. “And so, I believe that we needed a select committee in order to investigate that.”

Graham agreed Russia is a serious threat.

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“If you let Putin get away with this, then you’re opening yourself up to endless attacks by foreign entities,” he said. “Let’s make our own decisions about who we want to be president.”

The senators did express support for some of Trump’s priorities, though. They both said Republicans should honor their campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. They offered glowing praise of the president’s national security team.

Graham said Trump gave a great speech in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

“The guy I saw last night can govern this country,” he said. “The guy I saw last night, we can do business with.”