During a debate for the 10th Congressional District with a Democratic challenger Wednesday, Virginia Republican congressional candidate Barbara Comstock said that the government can secure the border by tracking immigrants in a similar fashion to how the shipping company FedEx tracks packages.
“I think immigration should be done by legislation, not executive action. I think first and foremost, we need to stop playing politics with this and secure the borders,” Comstock said at the debate against Democratic challenger John Foust. “Fedex can track packages coming in here all the time; we can track people who are coming into the country. And we can do that right.”
“We secure the borders; we enforce the laws; and then we pass things like H-1B visas which I support, “ Comstock added. “We need to do a step by step process … So often when you have these huge monolith bills, you have unexpected consequences.”
Responding to a questioner who asked about the immigration reform proposals she supports and whether she advocated amending current laws including supporting executive action on immigration relief, Comstock said that she believed any immigration action should come from Congress and not from the Obama administration.
Comstock is hoping to replace the retiring Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA). In April, Comstock opposed comprehensive immigration reform, stating at the time, “we’re better off doing step by step, kind of going for the base hits, things like making sure we secure the borders first.” And just two weeks ago, she said, “Washington needs to …secure the borders and enforce the law and keep us safe… We need to have one same — welcoming immigration system that works the same for everybody.”
While Comstock is likely the first Republican to compare immigrants to an inanimate object, others have been unapologetic in comparing undocumented immigrants to animals. Rep. Steve King, (R-IA) for instance, has compared immigrants to bird dogs, livestock, drug mules, and stated that immigrants were “130 pound” drug runners with “calves the size of cantaloupes.”