A Democratic campaign staffer was caught on leaked video supporting open borders, Fox News reported. Kevin Oyakawa, who is working on two hotly contested campaigns this year, is heard saying, "Open the f---ing border; I don’t give a s--- who comes in here."
Democrats often attempt to sound pragmatic about illegal immigration. They typically speak about the humanitarian aspect or the morality of kicking out people in the U.S. illegally.
However, Oyakawa spilled the truth about Democrats' philosophy while speaking on a video to a volunteer. "We don’t need border patrol but, [the] issue with even talking about immigration here in Ohio is that it’s a losing issue for Democrats here, for like no f---ing reason other than people’s pure racism," Oyakawa claimed in the video.
Oyakaway is employed by the Ohio Coordinated Campaign, which aims to "re-elect [Sen.] Sherrod Brown, Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, and other down-ballot Democratic candidates." This comes as both Democrats struggle in their respective races.
Social media accounts for Oyakawa show that he has been actively canvassing for Sykes and Brown while sharing this view earlier this month. In a since-deleted post to Facebook, Oyakaway claimed he was "responsible for leading a team of field organizers on day-to-day operations of the campaign" in Summit and Stark counties in Ohio.
A photo on the page shows him with Sykes and other campaign volunteers captioned, "Just another guy who is active in the Resistance." This could not be worse for Sykes, who is struggling to retain her seat against a Republican who hammered her over illegal immigration.
While she won her first term with a comfortable five-point margin in 2022, former President Trump handily won parts of Ohio's 13th Congressional District in 2020. Her office released a statement to Fox News in the hopes of limiting the fallout.
"Congresswoman Emilia Sykes has worked to deliver increased funding to help secure our border and stop the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl. She also cosponsored the bipartisan Dignity Act that would address border security and infrastructure, all while her opponent Kevin Coughlin uses the border to play politics," the statement said of her Republican opponent, former Ohio state Sen. Kevin. Coughlin.
Brown's campaign spokesperson, Matt Keyes, similarly downplayed Oyakawa's remarks. "While Sherrod supports the bipartisan border security bill backed by border patrol agents and has worked with both parties to secure our southern border and keep Ohioans safe from fentanyl by cracking down on the chemical suppliers in China and drug cartels in Mexico, Bernie Moreno opposes these efforts because he isn’t looking out for Ohioans," Keyes said of the Democrat's GOP opponent for U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans are turning this issue into political gold. "Ohioans are already aware of Emilia Sykes’ dangerous open border policies, and now we see what she and her team support behind closed doors," Coughlin said.
"It’s bad enough that Ohio communities are suffering from fentanyl and crime flowing over our borders, but her team has no remorse. And she calls anyone who disagrees with her 'racist,'" Coughlin added.
"It's disgusting, and Emilia Sykes should condemn this immediately," he concluded. Reagan McCarthy, communications director for Moreno, ripped Brown similarly.
"Sherrod Brown's staff is saying the quiet part out loud: Ohio Democrats would rather keep the border open and continue to allow millions of illegals to enter our nation rather than secure the border and protect our communities," McCarthy told Fox News Digital. Brown's race with Moreno is consider a "toss-up" heading into Election Day.
Democrats dance around the issue, but it's clear from how they govern that they want unchecked illegal immigration. Unfortunately for them, Oyakawa did not have the good sense to keep that fact hidden under platitudes.
