Bloomberg calls for ‘more immigrants rather than less’ in campaign speech

Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday said he believes the country needs “an awful lot more immigrants rather than less,” as the former New York City mayor hits the campaign trail after his late entry into the 2020 Democratic primary.

The Associated Press reports Bloomberg’s comments came on his second day on the campaign trail after entering the field just last week.

“We need immigrants to take all the different kinds of jobs that the country needs — improve our culture, our cuisine, our religion, our dialogue and certainly improve our economy,” Bloomberg said while speaking at a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, according to the AP.

The billionaire sought to quickly contrast his stance on immigration with that of the current administration, blasting President Trump for some of the policies enacted while he’s been in office, including separating families at the border.

“Ripping kids away from their parents is a disgrace,” he said.

During the campaign stop, Bloomberg also repeated his previous apology for the stop-and-frisk strategy the New York Police Department implemented while he was mayor.

“How many times do you hear elected officials say, ‘I made a mistake’?” Bloomberg asked. “None of us do everything perfectly. I’m sorry it happened, I can’t rewrite history. Let’s get on with it.”

In one of the first national polls since announcing his candidacy, Bloomberg garnered 3 percent support in the CNN survey.