Hannity defends Trump's immigration plan

Politico

By Nick Gass

August 18, 2015

Hannity defends Trump's immigration plan 

Fox News host Sean Hannity and Fusion host Jorge Ramos clashed over Donald Trump’s immigration plan and the issue writ large during a segment on Hannity’s Monday night show.

“I think everything about Donald Trump’s immigration plan is wrong. It’s not only wrong, but it’s simply impossible to achieve. He cannot deport 11 million people, that’s not doable,” Ramos said at the start of a nearly 10-minute back-and-forth. “Sure he can,” Hannity responded.

Later in the interview, Ramos asked Hannity if he “could imagine the massive human rights violations” that would be created by the deportation of 11 million people, as Trump has proposed with his immigration plan.

It would not work to build a wall as Trump has suggested, Ramos said, because “about 40 percent of all undocumented immigrants come by plane.”

“It might play well in the polls, it might help him in New Hampshire and Iowa, but it’s simply not going to work,” Ramos added.

Hannity then brought up the problem of criminal activity among immigrants coming to the U.S. illegally.

“Why don’t you join with the rest of the country and say it is imperative that we as a nation have an obligation to secure our border?” he asked the Fusion anchor.

Ramos shot back: “So why don’t you join with the majority of Americans who believe that we need comprehensive immigration reform? You know, undocumented immigrants are coming to this country because there are thousands of American companies who hire them, and because there are millions of Americans, including you and me, who benefit from their work.”

The notion that immigrants tend to commit more crimes than the rest of the population is misguided, Ramos said, citing statistics from the Immigration Policy Center.

Hannity pushed back, saying he had not said that, accusing Ramos of “defending illegal activity.”

“They’re driving down wages, they’re creating more competition for labor in this country,” the Fox News host responded.

Ramos responded, saying in part that people are coming to this country not because they are criminals but because they want jobs.

“There are also criminals coming, too,” Hannity remarked, running off the list of dangers to Mexican citizens “who are hiring these coyotes.”

“The vast majority of immigrants in this country are not criminals and are not rapists,” Ramos responded, an apparent allusion to Trump’s controversial remarks during his June announcement speech.

American citizens should get jobs first, and then immigration reform should follow, Hannity said.

“You don’t believe in the rule of law. You don’t care about people that don’t respect our laws. You don’t care about American sovereignty,” he told Ramos.

Ramos said that he believes in the rule of law but said that immigrants would not be in the U.S. unless companies were not hiring them, a point that Hannity conceded.

“Are you going to be in the business of deporting babies?” Ramos asked.

“That’s a very emotional argument, Jorge,” Hannity interjected. “That is what Mexico does, that is what Australia does. That is what a lot of countries do. America is the only dumb country that leaves its borders wide open, and it has transformed our economy.”

To Ramos’ point that immigrants contribute to the economy by paying taxes, Hannity responded that many here illegally do not pay.

“No, they do pay taxes. Not only that, it’s taxation without representation,” Ramos said.

“They’re not citizens!” Hannity exclaimed.

Ramos returned to the issue of deporting babies multiple times during the interview.

“Are you going to go to the hospitals and take the babies?” Ramos asked, which Hannity again called an emotional argument.

Hannity countered that Ramos supports law-breaking, while Ramos responded that everyone is breaking the law with a broken immigration system.

“You’re going to do it right with Mexico,” Ramos said of building a wall,” but how about the 5,000 miles between the U.S. and Canada?”

“I would do it up there, too. I would do it up there, too,” Hannity said.

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