Hillary Clinton at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Addressing a roundtable of Dreamers in Las Vegas, Hillary Clinton did exactly what immigration activists were hoping for—she not only endorsed "full and equal citizenship" for undocumented immigrants, she pledged to expand on President Obama's immigration actions.
"As president, I would do everything possible under the law to go even further," Clinton said. "There are more people – like many parents of Dreamers and others with deep ties and contributions to our communities – who deserve a chance to stay. I'll fight for them too."
She lauded President Obama for implementing deportation relief for Dreamers and their parents, saying, "he had to act in the face of inaction" and adding that Republicans had stalled immigration reform for "politically motivated" reasons.
Clinton also reminded the televised roundtable that "not a single Republican candidate" is consistently calling for a pathway to citizenship.
"When they talk about 'legal status,' that is code for 'second-class status,'" she said.
Though Clinton stopped short of making a commitment to pass immigration reform within a certain time frame, she said it would be among her top priorities within her first year in office.
Immigration activists seemed instantaneously thrilled by Clinton's comments.
Frank Sharry of America's Voice
She went there. She's talking about expanding executive action to cover people who didn't get covered under Obama's actions. BOOM!
— @FrankSharry
For more on their reactions and Clinton's immigration comments, head below the fold.
DREAM Action Coalition
Hillary on deporting 11 million people: “It’s beyond absurd. That’s not going to happen”
— @DRMAction
David Leopold, Immigration attorney and advocate
I think @HillaryClinton just won the White House. She's out front on #immigration
— @DavidLeopold
Clinton was really at her progressive best at this event. She demonstrated a working knowledge of the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants and their families—including the intricacies of immigration law and how it poses real challenges to immigrants in employment and education.
At one point, she called for reforming the detention system, noting that many facilities are run by private companies that have a "built-in incentive" to fill beds "in order to be paid on a per-bed basis."
"That is not how any detention facility should be run," she said.
She made the case for immigration reform from both an economic and a national security standpoint.
"As Secretary of State, I saw what happens to countries that establish a second class status for people," she said, noting that they don't develop an "allegiance" to the country. It's "a recipe for divisiveness and disintegration," she added.
Clinton's roundtable discussion also included a lesbian and a transgender representative, who asked her about seeking asylum and making detention facilities safer for transgender immigrants.
Following the event, Cesar Vargas of the DREAM Action Coalition sent out a statement of cautious optimism.
"We need to hear more detail, such as what doing 'everything possible under the law to go even further' than Obama would look like for her,” said Vargas. “We need to know she is willing to take political risks for us, but she has been very encouraging today.”
Frank Sharry of America's Voice noted that Clinton's comments could be a game-changer in terms of earning the support of the immigration community.
"Wow. Hillary Clinton just bear-hugged immigrants and the immigration issue in a way that could shake up the entire 2016 race."