Hillary Clinton departed from the hard-left position she’s adopted on immigration policy during her latest presidential bid on Monday when she touted her past votes to build “a barrier” to block illegal aliens from entering the country.
“Look, I voted numerous times when I was a senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in,” Clinton said during a town hall event in New Hampshire.
“I do think you have to control your borders.”
Clinton has so far avoided reminding voters of her past support for stronger border security. During the current campaign she has adopted a wholly pro-immigration stance, saying that she will go beyond President Obama executive actions on immigration policy by granting amnesty to even more illegal aliens. She also has avoided the descriptor “illegal” to describe illegal aliens.
When she announced her immigration policy platform in May, she pledged to “do everything I possibly can” to help illegal aliens remain in the U.S.
During her previous White House run in 2008, Clinton ran to the right of Obama on immigration and other issues. Though she has long called for comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, she also spoke more often then about border security. On several occasions as a New York senator she mentioned that she supported a fence similar to one Israel built on the West Bank.
Clinton also used more conservative rhetoric when discussing immigration policy than she currently does.
“I am adamantly against illegal immigrants,” she said on the John Grambling radio show in Feb. 2003.
“Certainly we’ve got to do more at our borders,” she continued then, adding that, “people have to stop employing illegal immigrants.” (RELATED: Unearthed Audio: Hillary Said She’s ‘Adamantly Against’ Illegal Immigrants)
Clinton has flip-flopped on specific immigration issues as well. While she said she opposed providing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens when she ran in 2008, she now supports doing so.
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