Talarico says Biden ‘failed’ Texas by not securing border

Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico (D) raised criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policies during a town hall Wednesday evening.

The Democratic nominee branded himself as a “border security Democrat” during the event , which was hosted by CNN and Jubilee.

“Both political parties have failed us on this issue,” he told the crowd in Fort Worth, Texas. “Joe Biden failed us during his administration by not securing the border.”

The candidate added that he disagreed with some of the tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers amid President Trump’s crackdown on immigration in the state.

“ICE should be focused on going after the cartels, not our communities,” the Democrat said.

“They should be going after violent gang members, not moms and babies,” Talarico continued. “And so, I think we’ve got to get to a place where we reject the extremism on this issue in both parties and finally pass comprehensive immigration reform.”

The Senate hopeful also said he would not support abolishing ICE , a position adopted by many progressive Democrats.

“We need Immigration and Customs Enforcement in this country, but that’s not what we’re seeing,” he said. “What we’ve seen over the last year is a secret police force, and that’s what we don’t want in this country.”

The candidate specifically referenced the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE officer in Houston in July and said he would “fight” for justice for people like Araujo if elected to Congress.

More broadly, Talarico expressed his openness to breaking with his party in the greater interest of the state during the Wednesday remarks.

“I’m a proud Democrat, but I already have a religion , and I already have a sports team, so I have no problem sharing hard truths with my party if it’s what’s best for Texas,” he said.

Talarico’s Trump-backed opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), has declined to participate in debates against the state representative. The Republican nominee lists border security as one of his platforms on his campaign website , pledging to support the completion of the president’s border wall if he wins in November.

Immigration has remained top of mind for many voters in the border state headed into the midterm elections. A recent Fox News poll , conducted at the end of September, showed 47 percent of likely Texas voters believe immigration is “extremely important” to their midterm vote. Paxton had a 20-point advantage among voters in this group.

Additionally, a separate survey from The New York Times/Siena University found 12 percent of likely voters in the state said immigration was their top issue in the election — the second most selected issue area behind affordability.

In the Times/Siena poll, 51 percent of respondents said they would vote for Talarico in November, while 45 percent supported Paxton.