Va. GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart vows to be ‘strongest fighter against illegal

Va. GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart vows to be ‘strongest fighter against illegal immigration’

By Seth McLaughlin - The Washington Times - Thursday, January 18, 2018

Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart rolled out his plan Thursday to crack down on illegal immigrant and reshape the legal immigration system, vowing to be the “strongest fighter against illegal immigration the U.S. Senate has ever seen.”

Mr. Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, joined the Trump administration and conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill by calling for the end of chain migration, the visa lottery system and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which has shielded young illegal immigrants from deportation.

Mr. Stewart said he supports prosecuting elected leaders in “sanctuary cities,” building “the WHOLE wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border and mandating the federal 287(g) program, which he enacted in his hometown, that enlists state and local police to help enforce immigration laws.

“It is time our immigration policies served the interests of American workers and the American economy first,” Mr. Stewart said.

Mr. Stewart is viewed as the front-runner in the June 12 primary race for the GOP nomination and the chance to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in the November midterm elections.

“I’m running against Tim Kaine to stop our great nation from being overrun by illegal aliens and the crime, drugs, human trafficking, poverty and misery they bring with them,” Mr. Stewart said. “Our immigration policy should put American workers first: the citizens who make this country run, who go to work, pay their taxes and follow the law.”

Mr. Stewart has been one of the most consistent critics of the federal government’s approach to illegal immigration and grabbed national attention a decade ago when he led a successful effort in the Northern Virginia suburbs to pass one of the most aggressive crackdowns on illegal immigrants in the country.

He has completely embraced President Trump and shocked the political world last year when he nearly defeated Ed Gillespie in the GOP nomination race for governor after promising to defend the state Confederate memorials and take a harder line on immigration.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...l-immigration/