A Democratic congressional candidate stumbled through a basic question about immigration enforcement during a one–on–one interview with NBC, having to pause for about 20 seconds before offering a vague answer.
Dr. Ala Stanford, who is running for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional district, was speaking with NBC 10 Philadelphia reporter Lauren Mayk when she was pressed on her calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
'From an immigration enforcement perspective, who do you think should be in charge of enforcing immigration laws?' Mayk asked.
'It's a good question,' Stanford, 55, said. 'And you can pause because I just want to think about it.'
When Mayk told her the interview needed to continue, Stanford answered that immigration laws should not be enforced by the president, before calling Donald Trump 'self–serving' and accusing him of making decisions 'for his personal gain.'
Mayk tried to redirect Stanford, a former Joe Biden appointee, back to her original question about who would handle immigration enforcement if ICE were abolished.
'But who should be on the ground enforcing?' Mayk asked. 'If you've abolished ICE, who handles it? Who enforces those laws? Who enforces the border?'
Stanford replied that ICE could not be reformed, accusing the agency of being a 'paramilitary organization that is taking human life.'
Dr. Ala Stanford, a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, was seemingly left stumped for roughly 20 seconds when asked about her calls to abolish ICE
NBC 10 Philadelphia reporter Lauren Mayk pressed Stanford for more specifics on her immigration enforcement plans to little avail
Stanford said that she 'wouldn't even use' the ICE acronym going forward, claiming that its connotation was supposedly 'so negative that you would need a new name'
When directly asked if that meant having 'no ICE,' Stanford said that she 'wouldn't even use' that name for the agency.
'I think at this point, the connotation of that word is so negative that you would need a new name,' she said.
Stanford added that she would 'put the subject matter experts around me who are more knowledgeable in this space' to prevent making 'errors of the past.'
Her response did not offer specifics on that idea or who the experts would be.
The Democratic candidate also said she would provide 'adjunct services in legal, and in health, and in housing, and in education for anyone who comes through our doors.'
However, Stanford still did not directly address who would manage immigration enforcement.
'Those are the tenets, not necessarily the people who would lead it,' she said. 'But those are the values that must be contained in what we create.'
Stanford is considered one of the three leading candidates ahead of the May 19 Democratic primary alongside State Sen. Sharif Street and state Rep. Chris Rabb.
The PA-03 seat is currently held by retiring Rep. Dwight Evans, 71, who announced last June that he would not seek reelection.
The now-congressional candidate was previously appointed by Joe Biden as the Mid-Atlantic regional director for the Department of Health and Human Services in 2022.
Stanford, a pediatric surgeon, is considered to be one of the favorites vying to represent Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District
Stanford said she would 'abolish ICE and hold Trump accountable,' though she has not offered specifics on what would replace the immigration agency
Stanford further addressed her position on immigration enforcement in a statement posted to social media on Tuesday.
'ICE should be abolished, but instead this Congress has given it $150 billion dollars to fund its disgusting campaign terrorizing people of color and murdering Americans in the streets,' she wrote.
Stanford said she would 'abolish ICE and hold Trump accountable' if elected to Congress.
Stanford also appeared to address her long pause when asked one–on–one about abolishing ICE by saying that 'all I can do is tell the truth.'
'So if I pause, it's because I'm thinking,' she told the Philadelphia Inquirer. 'I'm not just going to regurgitate something '
Stanford added: 'I'm a solver of complex problems. I'm detail–oriented.'
Stanford has also urged fellow her fellow Democrats to not fund the agency 'until it has the authority to re–write immigration enforcement laws in this country and pass real immigration reform, allowing a pathway to citizenship.
Stanford was appointed by Joe Biden as the Mid-Atlantic regional director for the Department of Health and Human Services in April 2022
Stanford said she would surround herself with 'subject matter experts ... who are more knowledgeable in this space' in regards to immigration enforcement
Stanford, who has never ran for office before, addressed her lack of political experience by saying she was a 'quick study.'
Her campaign revolves around food programs, increased education and affordable housing, City and State reported.
She had nearly $450,000 on hand at the start of April, Federal Election Commission filings showed.
On Wednesday, Stanford continued to make the news when she announced that she would not participate in a televised congressional race debate due to supposed concerns about the format.
Stanford insisted that she had 'never been afraid of a hard room' in a statement addressing her latest move, per WHYY – the network hosting the debate.
'After engaging in good faith with WHYY, we could not reach terms on a format that would deliver the serious accountability voters in PA–03 deserve,' Stanford said.
'I am not willing to lend my name to a conversation that falls short of that standard and so we will not be participating today,' Stanford's statement read.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Stanford's campaign for further comment.