Congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds (R-FL) challenged his political rivals to "play the whole tape" when it comes to his stances on immigration, including birthright citizenship, chain migration, and H-1B visas, during a recent interview with The Floridian publisher Javier Manjarres.
"Play the whole tape. Don't be 60 minutes," Donalds challenged. "Don't selectively edit. Play the whole tape because, once my words are clear, then there's not going to be any ambiguity about my positions when it comes to immigration and border security, for that matter, as it comes to the United States."
Rep. Donalds, who stands as the Republican frontrunner in the governor's race, has been called out by challenger James Fishback for his views on the H-1B visa program, which allows employers to hire foreign nationals temporarily with a bachelor's degree or equivalent to work in specialty occupations, such as technology, engineering, or medicine.
Another potential gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, has also criticized him over the policy, calling him "H-1Byron" in a direct response to The Floridian writer Michael Costeines.
"I think what's happening is obviously campaigns are starting up. People are going online. They're taking an interview that I've done. They cherry-pick my words, or they clip it, and they selectively edit what I say," Donalds said. "They're acting like a Leslie Saul at 60 minutes."
Donalds, who President Donald Trump endorsed earlier this year, dismissed the notion that he was for H-1Bs. He also noted it would take some help from his colleagues on the Hill to get it terminated.
"Well, first of all, when it comes to H-1Bs, I'm opposed to the program. Congress should end it," Donalds expressed. "This is one of the things where the filibuster again is needed, because you have to get 60 votes in the Senate. Senate Democrats, odds are, are not going to be in agreement, so you got to find a way to get that through."
Donalds again emphasized that he was 100% for ending it. Affirming his pledge, he noted his stances on ending birthright citizenship and chain migration have remained the same since he joined Congress in 2012.
"They need to be reformed and overhauled, 100% they need to, because we have an immigration system that has actually not been supportive of American interests in immigration," Donalds said. "It's been supportive of interests of other people coming into the United States. I think we need to change that, and that's been my position for more than 15 years now.
