Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Scott Jennings Defends Deportations After CNN Host Attempts To Split Hairs On Legal Definition Of Illegal Immigration

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Republican strategist Scott Jennings explained why deporting illegal immigrants was necessary Tuesday after “CNN NewsNight” host Abby Phillip claimed illegally entering the United States didn’t make people criminals.

Acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Melanie Krause reportedly resigned over an agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury to use IRS data to help track illegal immigrants. Phillip claimed that entering the United States without authorization was not a crime.

“Scott, we talked a lot about going after criminals. I don’t think anybody disagrees with that. 7 million means that they’re not just going after criminals,” Phillip said, with Jennings responding, “Well, they’re going after people who are in the country illegally, right?”

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“Yeah. No, but I’m saying the criminals, this is a much bigger universe,” Phillip responded, with Jennings saying, “Doesn’t that make you a criminal, to come to come across the border illegally?”

Upon taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued several executive orders to address illegal immigration, including designating Mexican drug cartels, the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and the El Salvadoran prison gang MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations.

“No, it doesn’t. Coming into the country illegally is a civil offense. It’s not a criminal offense, okay?” Phillip responded.

“Okay, if you come into the country illegally, here’s the message: We’re going to find you and send you back. I mean, I’m sorry, that’s the way it is. And I think the government should pull all the levers at its disposal to find people and pull this off,” Jennings said. “It’s what the American people asked Donald Trump to do. Yes, they should be deporting violent people. Yes, they should be deporting people who committed violent acts before they came here. But at some juncture, if you’re going to allow any illegal immigration at all, the message then goes out, just get here. It will probably work out for you. That was the last administration.”

While being in the United States without authorization is punishable with civil penalties, including deportation and the potential to adversely affect one’s ability to re-enter the country, illegal entry into the Unites States is a crime, according to Findlaw. For the first offense, the penalty can be up to six months in prison, with subsequent convictions potentially coming to a two-year prison sentence, according to 8 USC 1325.

The Border Patrol encountered millions of illegal immigrants during the Biden administration, according to figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).