Republican US Senate candidate John James donated hundreds of dollars to a liberal Democrat in Detroit who sides with illegal immigrants over President Trump.
In 2015, James donated $500 to the campaign of Raquel Castaneda-Lopez, a Democrat member of the Detroit City Council.
Castaneda-Lopez is one of the top advocates for keeping Detroit as a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants.
A review of campaign finance reports also shows that James has never donated to a Republican before in any state or federal races.
“There’s no sign that Detroit will change any of its immigrant-friendly policies as a result of Donald Trump’s election, according to one City Council member who has helped spearhead some of them. Detroit is a self-designated “sanctuary city.”
Those cities offer limited protections to undocumented immigrants. Trump has pledged to cancel federal funding to all sanctuary cities during his first 100 days in office. But Detroit City Council member Raquel Castañeda Lopez said there are no plans to change anything—yet.
“We do not stand down to our commitment to being a sanctuary city,” Castañeda Lopez said. “We don’t stand down to our commitment to being a welcoming city. We do not stand down to our commitment to welcoming refugees.” Trump’s first 100 days plan also pledges to suspend all immigration from terror-prone regions, and subject all refugees to “extreme vetting.” Castañeda Lopez says the city is also still committed to unrolling its municipal ID program within weeks. It will offer IDs to people who traditionally don’t have them, including undocumented immigrants.”
The news comes as a poll released last week shows James trailing to rival Sandy Pensler by double digits.
The MRG survey of likely Republican primary voters shows Pensler beating James 36% to 26%.
MRG President Tom Shields says Pensler has momentum.
“Now that both candidates have been on television, Sandy Pensler continues to hold a solid ten percentage point lead over James,” Shields said in a press release. “More and more Republican voters are making up their minds on this race and the choice is Sandy Pensler to take on Debbie Stabenow in the fall.” (The poll was conducted for the Pensler campaign.)
Pensler, a businessman who turns around failing companies, recently released a television ad touting himself as “the real conservative” in the race to decide who will take on liberal Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow in November. The primary is August 7th.
