A member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus refuses to attend a meeting with a communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris (D), Jamal Simmons, over his tweets about illegal aliens from a decade ago.
Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) said that a meeting would not persuade him to accept Simmons’ apology.
“The deep concern to me is this may show his true disposition when it comes to immigration. That’s what my concern is. A meeting is not going to change my mind or give me peace of mind one way or the other,” Correa said to The Hill.
Simmons tweeted in 2010 that immigration officials should have apprehended illegal aliens who had revealed their immigration status live on-air on MSNBC at the time.
He later apologized for the statements.
“At times I’ve been sarcastic, unclear or plainly missed the mark. I apologize for offending ppl who care as much as I do about making America the best, multiethnic, diverse democracy [and] I’ll [represent] the Biden-Harris admin [with] humility, sincerity [and] respect,” tweeted Simmons.
He is scheduled to participate in a virtual videoconference with the CHC on Thursday to address their apprehension and anger over his decade-old comments.
“The statements that Jamal made were just stunning, beyond stunning. Words cannot describe my feelings,” said Correa to Axios.
“Is he a Trumper? That’s a question I might ask him,” he added.
Simmons apologized personally to Erika Andiola, the illegal alien advocate he had been referring to in the tweet from 2010.
The controversy is just the latest in a string of damaging episodes that are eroding faith among Democrats that Harris is capable of helping them absorb what are expected to be numerous losses in the midterm elections.
Here’s more about the bad polling for Democrats:
Polls show Americans rejecting Democrats’ agenda www.youtube.com