In Last Night's Debate With Bernie Sanders, Biden Stated His Position On Illegal Immigration

On the Obama administration’s record of deportations, Biden acknowledged that “it took much too long to get it right.” Adjusting his tone from last year, he declared last night that he would not deport anyone during his first 100 days as president and, from then on, would only deport felons. Biden has lurched leftward on immigration, especially in tone, perhaps motivated by his underperformance with Latinos. 

A moderator noted that Biden spoke out against “sanctuary cities” as a presidential candidate in 2007 and asked if he still believed that local law enforcement should turn undocumented immigrants over to federal immigration authorities. “No,” Biden said, offering a direct answer but no explanation for his change of heart.