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Student debaters split on immigration: Republicans press enforcement, Democrats call for pathway and systemic fixes
Summary
At a Hinckley Institute student debate, College Republicans urged federal control and stricter enforcement of immigration while College Democrats argued for comprehensive reform, a pathway to legal status and expanded immigration court capacity; both sides invoked contested statistics about costs and population.
Dalen Al Zamora, president of the College Republicans at the University of Utah, told audience members that the federal government should have primary authority over immigration enforcement and prioritized removal, saying the U.S. must “secure the border” and “remove those without legitimate legal claims.” He cited several studies and large numeric estimates—including a claim of about 15,900,000 people in the country without legal status and multi‑billion dollar cost estimates to taxpayers—which opponents disputed during cross‑examination.
Ian Jacobson, representing the College Democrats, framed the problem as a broken…
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