JoAnna Mendoza Slammed for Prior Comments on Illegal Alien Labor

The Republican National Committee (RNC) dug up comments from Democratic candidate JoAnna Mendoza on illegal alien labor, where she allegedly suggested that illegal aliens are the "only folks" who do certain jobs in the United States.

The Context

In a Zoom meeting from an unknown date, Mendoza is shown saying that immigration affects labor, and that Arizona has a "huge [agriculture] industry."

"So, you know, the only folks that will really do that are immigrants," she says, adding, "Cows that need to be milked twice a day, 365 days a year. You know, they don't have the labor for it. Construction, service, service industries. We're talking about caregivers in hospitals or, you know, that go to the home."

While she does not explicitly refer to illegal aliens during the clip shared, the RNC suggests that Mendoza's comment is an implicit endorsement of illegal alien labor.

Mendoza previously called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to "stand down" in January, saying, "First and foremost, what we need to address is we need a stand down for ICE and all ICE operations right now because an external, independent investigation needs to happen."

What the RNC is Saying

"JoAnna Mendoza wants Arizona to be full of criminal illegal immigrants and let the inmates run the asylum," RNC spokesman Nick Poche said in a response to Mendoza's alleged support for illegal alien labor. "That is not serious border security – It's a recipe for more of the chaos southern Arizona already endured."

The RNC has gone after previous remarks by Mendoza about various policies since March, when a 2020 interview featuring Mendoza allegedly shows her speaking in favor of defunding the police, which she denied.

In June, another 2020 interview shows Mendoza seemingly endorsing the decriminalization of prostitution for transgender women of color, saying, "it's important to ensure that there's access to the resources, the support networks, the social services, access to health care," and that "we need to stop criminalizing people for their situations."