Contentious exchanges over illegal immigration front and center in Arizona Senate debate

Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego faced off against Republican challenger Kari Lake on Wednesday night and wasted no time exchanging blows over the illegal immigration crisis plaguing the state’s southern border.

Lake, trailing behind Gallego entering into the debate, appeared much more on the offensive. Meanwhile, Gallego – a five-term member in Congress – appeared more relaxed, given his comfortable lead in several recent polls. 

The two candidates sparred over border security and abortion in the first half of the debate night. Lake touted H.R. 2 – the House GOP-led bill that would tighten border security – while Gallego pointed to his support for the failed bipartisan border bill that Democrats, Republicans and White House officials negotiated earlier this year.

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Kari Lake and Rep. Ruben Gallego are battling in the Arizona Senate race. (Getty Images)

Gallego also accused Lake of wanting to deport Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, while Lake accused Gallego of not wanting to deport any of the illegal immigrants who have crossed the border over the last three and a half years.

“Dealing with the people who’ve poured in during the Bidenvasion, the 20 million people who have come in unvetted into our country, we must deal with them in order to save our homeland,” Lake said during the debate. “We must send them back to their homeland. I’m talking about the people came in unvetted in the past three and a half years. I’m not talking about the dreamers.”

“Do you want to deport any of the people who’ve invaded our country in the last three and a half years? Ruben, do want to deport any of them?” Lake probed.

“Yes, actually we should have a proper deport deportation proceedings,” Gallego replied. “But I also think that we shouldn’t deport Dreamers.” 

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Kari Lake holds a press conference on May 23, 2023 in Phoenix. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

“She says she’s going to deport people. Will you deport those Dreamers? Just be honest, yes or no,” Gallego said.

Lake responded that former President Donald Trump wanted to make a deal when it came to Dreamers, which Gallego did not support.

“You said no. Unfortunately, the radical Democrats, like my opponent, would rather use people as political pawns. I want to secure the border,” Lake said.

Though it was a debate for the Arizona Senate seat, the debate did not shy away from weighing into national waters. Other issues like reducing inflation and re-federalizing Roe v. Wade came up later in the debate. 

At one point during the night, Gallego took a swipe at Lake, accusing her of spending more time at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago than visiting the border. 

Lake also made sure to align herself as a strong Trump ally throughout the night who would restore a “strong Trump economy,” while painting Gallego as a supporter of “Kamala Harris, the border czar, and Joe Biden’s open border.”

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Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. (Getty Images)

When it came to abortion, which Democrats have selected as one of their winning platform issues this election cycle, Lake said she opposed a federal abortion ban, but Gallego pointed to her supporting the state’s 1864 near-total ban in 2022. 

Gallegho said “it is absolutely abhorrent” that his 15-month-old daughter “has less rights in control of her body than her mother and then her grandma.” State law currently bans abortion at 15 weeks gestation.

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“And the reason we need to codify [Roe v. Wade] because people like Kari Lake are the ones that make this a dangerous situation,” he said.

Lake responded that abortion rights should be “left to the states.”

The debate came on the first day of early voting for Arizona, as the state’s Senate race is one of the highly contested seats this election cycle.