Office for Arizona GOP Senate candidate Martha McSally removes video of her defending DACA

A video showing Arizona Republican Rep. Martha McSally defending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was removed from public view, CNN reported.

McSally is seeking to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake and faces competition from two immigration hardliners: former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

What did she say?

Before her Senate bid, McSally’s office issued a June 2017 news release in which she asked then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly about immigration and border issues.

According to the release, McSally asked Kelly during a House committee hearing if he could assure her that DACA recipients would not face deportation.

"These children were brought here at no fault of their own. In Arizona, there are 57,000 of them," McSally said in the release. "Uncertainty brings fear to my constituents in this position. Can you assure me that they will be protected?"

Kelly responded that they would not face deportation.

A YouTube video of the interaction was also embedded in the news release, according to the report. It had the caption "to watch the exchange from the hearing, click below," CNN reported.

The video is currently not available, meaning it was either deleted or made private. Two other videos not related to DACA that also showed part of the hearing are still available and online.

Who removed it?

McSally’s congressional office manages her YouTube account, according to the report. When a third party gets a video removed, YouTube places a message on the video to that effect.

McSally co-sponsored legislation in 2017 to provide legal status to some children of undocumented immigrants, the report states. But when she decided to run for the Arizona Senate, McSally asked last month that she be removed as a co-sponsor.

Since then, she has co-authored a more conservative bill. That bill does not include a citizenship path for DACA eligible immigrants. It also seeks to limit legal immigration numbers, according to the report.

McSally's office did not respond to requests for comment from TheBlaze about the removal of the video.

The GOP primary for the Arizona Senate race is Aug. 28.