The candidates for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District met in the first of two debates in Southern New Mexico. Samantha Sonner has more on the debate sponsored by the New Mexico League of United Latin American Citizens.
Republican Representative Steve Pearce and Democratic Challenger Merrie Lee Soules faced off on many issues including Veteran’s Issues, taxes, and the environment among others.
One of the biggest issues in 2016 is immigration reform; Rep. Steve Pearce says reform starts with border security.
“What I would do is secure the border first,” Pearce said. “That would be not with a wall, but with people and technology that’s easily accessible. We’ve already paid for it to be done; they just didn’t get it done. So secure the border, then I would fix the legal immigration. It should not take 20 years to come here; now then you have a static problem. If you do it in any other order then it’s a problem tomorrow after you fix it today. So do those two, then I would set up a guest worker program, and you could opt into the guest worker program without going back to your country. If you want to be a citizen then I don’t think I could let you stay at the front of the line working, while other people are waiting to come here.”
Merrie Lee Soules says comprehensive immigration reform needs to be solved.
“It means security,” Soules said. “Keeping our country safe from those that would do us harm. I don’t think that’s what the wall is about. I don’t see the harm inherent in living on the border. I think it has to do with legal status for those that are here living in the shadow without documents. I think it means a path to citizenship that for real is a possibility for people. I think it means assuring that all people whether or not their citizens have attorneys when they’re in court and get due legal process. There’s a number of others, but let’s set out really fixing them, rather then using them as political red meat.”
Representative Steve Pearce says he is supporting Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, but has not endorsed him saying he needs to improve his relationship with the Hispanic community.
Pearce also denounced lewd comments Trump made about women in a recently released 2005 video.
“I think that the comments were horrid,” Pearce said. “They are indefensible and I don’t defend them. But I expressed here tonight the deep-rooted feeling that I have about the Benghazi, and how we left people hanging. I think that was very clear in my discussion tonight why I could never support Mrs. Clinton.”
Merrie Lee Soules says she is proud to be on the ticket with Secretary Hillary Clinton.
KRWG is partnering with the Las Cruces Sun News for the second debate with Steve Pearce and Merrie Lee Soules, which will air on KRWG-TV at 7pm on October 27th
