Democratic Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse claimed Thursday that President Donald Trump’s policy regarding family separation at the border was one of the reasons he decided to run for Congress, but a quick look at the timeline suggests otherwise.
Neguse, the son of refugees, made the claim during a segment of “MSNBC Live with Velshi and Ruhle,” responding to a question about how the current border situation made him feel.
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“Well, as you said, I am the son of immigrants,” Neguse began. “My parents were refugees from East Africa. Came here over 35 years ago. One of the big reasons I ran for Congress was because of how outraged I felt at this president’s actions separating children from their parents at the southern border. And of course his dehumanizing language towards immigrants at large.”
But Neguse declared his candidacy for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in June 2017, which predates the introduction of the family separation policy by 10 months.
Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in early April 2018 the implementation of the “zero tolerance” policy, which resulted in children being separated from their parents during processing. By that time, Neguse’s campaign was already in full swing. (RELATED: Jeff Sessions Announces ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy After Surge In Illegal Border Crossings)
In addition, just after he announced his bid for the seat, Neguse gave an interview in which he told the Denver Post the reasons he had decided to run.
From the Denver Post, June 13, 2017:
In an interview, Neguse said a large part of his motivation to run for the U.S. House is to combat the policies of the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress — notably Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, his push to bar travel from several predominantly Muslim countries and GOP plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Neguse placed combating climate change at the top of that list, saying, “There is no more important and transformative issue facing us than climate change. It’s the future of our planet.”