The Daily Caller’s Vince Coglianese contributed to this report.
Alabama Republican Sen. [crscore]Jeff Sessions[/crscore] is predicting presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will attract black and Hispanic voters in the general election.
“Donald Trump is going to do better with Hispanics and African Americans, I am convinced, because he’s talking about things that will really make their wages go up,” Sessions said during a recent interview in his Capitol Hill office with The Daily Caller.
Said Sessions: “There is no doubt that the current immigration policy is a significant economic detriment to working Americans. And that includes particularly immigrants and minority groups because the flow of labor is so large, it floods the labor market and depresses wages.”
“So if you’re a second-generation Hispanic, an African American, or any other person in America who’s looking to get started at the first rung of the economic ladder, it’s harder to find a job and the wages are less,” Sessions said. “And it’s harder to get promoted and get pay raises.”
Sessions, who told TheDC he would be open to serving in a Trump administration, laid out the policies he says would help the working class.
“First, slow down the excessive flow of labor — it floods the market,” he said. “Second, you defend American manufacturing and workers against unfair foreign trade deals. And you take strong steps like regulatory reform and tax reform that will also create economic growth and help us be more competitive so we can start winning again.
Added Sessions: “We need to somehow get away from this view that ending illegal immigration is designed to hurt poor people. It’s designed to help poor people be able to get better jobs and better prospects. And trade will create better working conditions and wages for Americans.”
“Immigrants and other minority groups are the ones that are suffering the most from excessive immigration and this flawed trade policy of ours,” he said.
TheDC asked Sessions about Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s recent comments that the candidate “operates by starting the conversation at the outer edges and then brings it back towards the middle.” Does Sessions worry Trump could moderate his policies on immigration?
“I think that’s a commitment we can rely on,” Sessions said, “which is to build more barriers, a strong wall, and that we’re going to end illegal immigration.”
“I think he’s going to end the illegality at the border, and that’s not hard to do, frankly,” Sessions said. “It can be done faster than a lot of people think. He can get a massive reduction in illegal immigration simply by stating it as a national commitment.”
