Biden Under Fire for Telling Immigrant Rights Activist Demanding End to Deportations to 'Vote for Trump'

During a campaign event in Greenwood, South Carolina Thursday night, former Vice President Joe Biden told a protestor who confronted him over the Obama administration’s mass deportation policies to “vote for Trump,” prompting outrage from immigrant rights groups and activists.

“By now, it is clear that the immigrant community cannot trust Biden.”
—Carlos Rojas, Movimiento Cosecha

“You should vote for Trump,” Biden repeated as Carlos Rojas, an organizer with Movimiento Cosecha, urged the former Vice President to depart from the destructive record of the Obama White House and support a moratorium on deportations.

Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, refused to agree to the demand, insisting that he will “prioritize deportations only of people who have committed a felony or a serious crime.”

Rojas replied that he wants to ensure immigrants living in the United States don’t have to live in fear of deportation and separation from their families.

“You have the power, as a candidate, to actually commit to stop all deportations from day one—and we want to hear you say that,” Rojas said.

Watch the exchange, which quickly went viral on Twitter:

In a statement (pdf) following the town hall, Rojas said, “By now, it is clear that the immigrant community cannot trust Biden.”