Republican congressional candidate Carl DeMaio is holding a series of town halls to promote his plan for tighter border security in the San Diego region.
DeMaio, a former member of the San Diego City Council, is promoting a five-point plan in his quest to represent the largely rural 50th District in Congress.
- Build a combination of walls, fences and other barriers and add manpower along the border
- Remove “loopholes” in asylum and immigration laws to help the Border Patrol do its job
- End “sanctuary cities” and cut any welfare benefits for illegal immigrants
- Fully enforce the E-Verify program to prevent employment of illegal immigrants
- Switch to a merit-based system of legal immigration, ending family migration
He said he also planned to “target Republicans who are weak on border security issues and will work to defeat Democrats that stand for open borders.”
The first town hall was held in El Cajon last week.
Additional town halls are planed in Fallbrook at the Fallbrook Library, 124 S. Mission Rd., at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 27; in Escondido at the American Legion, 230 E. Park Ave., at 6 p.m. on Jan. 29; and in Santee at Carlton Oaks Country Club, 9200 Inwood Dr., at 10 a.m. on Feb. 1.
DeMaio faces two other Republicans, former Rep. Darrell Issa and state Sen. Brian Jones, as well as Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar in the March 3 primary.
The 50th District seat was formerly held by Rep. Duncan Hunter, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud. The district includes much of East County north of Interstate 8 and east of Interstate 15 along with part of Temecula.