Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) tried to shame Republican colleagues for their opposition to a controversial Senate immigration bill earlier this month. “Today we had the opportunity to pass the strongest border security bill in decades, and Senate Republicans walked away,” he stated.
Dem Sen. Bob Casey slammed by GOP for shifting immigration stances: 'Complicit in the crisis' https://t.co/TQdYTTlut8
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“After insisting that border security was such an emergency that it needed to be addressed immediately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now brazenly admitting that this issue can wait until after the November elections,” he added. “Everyone knows the reason for this insult to the American people is that Senate Republicans are genuflecting to their presidential candidate because he’d rather campaign on this crisis than fix it.”
But Republicans were prepared for him and had a few to say about him too, as they pointed out that he pushed some immigration initiatives during election years only to vote them off later.
“Now that Bob Casey is in the race of his life, he’s hoping Pennsylvanians will forget he opposed building a border wall and even supported mass amnesty and taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants. Casey will say anything for power, even if that means lying to Pennsylvanians,” said Phillip Letsou, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Per Fox News, Casey has called for stronger border security measures when running for reelection but turned around to vote against such measures in years he was not running for reelection. This has reportedly gone on since he took office in 2006.
When the Pennsylvania lawmaker was running for Senate in 2006, he denied supporting amnesty, calling his opponent Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) claim that he supports it a “big lie.”
One of his campaign ads even backed his claim, saying, “Bob Casey opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.”
However, Casey backed legislation that included a pathway to citizenship, also known as a de facto amnesty in 2007 and 2013 when he was not running for Senate.
When he ran in 2006, he also reportedly backed the idea of building a fence at the southern border, agreeing it was necessary at “strategic” spots. Two years later when he was not up for reelection, he voted against an amendment that would have paved the way for a border fence. A year later in 2009, he also voted against a provision that would have required the deployment of a fence across the border before the end of 2010.
He voted against similar amendments in 2010 and 2013, when he was not up for reelection.
Another issue he was shaky on was the idea of federal benefits for illegal immigrants which he opposed strongly during his run for office in 2006. However, he has voted for multiple legislation that push for illegal immigrants to receive federal benefits during times he is not running for reelection.
More recently, Casey has supported efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking at the border as he is seeking reelection this year. However, in 2021 and 2022, when he was not running for Senate, he voted against the detection of drugs at the border.
