A Surprising Reveal
Adam Laxalt, hardline immigration candidate for GOP, had undocumented grandmother: Report
Adam Laxalt, the GOP's Senate nominee in Nevada, has promoted a platform staunchly against DREAMers and illegal immigration — despite his own grandmother allegedly being an undocumented immigrant.
Axios reported Wednesday that Laxalt's father, the late Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), revealed during a Senate speech in 2006 that his mother was "unknowingly ... an illegal alien," and was once even detained by immigration agents. Domenici told colleagues his mother immigrated to New Mexico from Italy in 1907.
The senator didn't elaborate on the specifics of why his mother was considered undocumented, and Axios noted many Italian immigrants weren't considered illegal if they arrived in the U.S. prior to 1920.
"They decided she had to be arrested because she was an illegal alien," Domenici said. "So, sure enough, they came to do that and a neighbor had to come over to take care of us kids."
Despite these family ties, Laxalt has continually taken a hardline stance against illegal immigration, making it one of the key issues throughout his campaign. According to the FCC, Laxalt's campaign has spent $13,000 running anti-DREAMER radio ads.
The nominee also helmed a statewide lawsuit against DACA, the Obama administration policy that protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.
Laxalt's campaign has not responded to the revelation, nor has his opponent, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) — notably the nation's only Latina senator. FiveThirtyEight has the two candidates neck-and-neck, with Laxalt currently leading in the polls by two percentage points.