Now that the border crisis has become so pervasive that even liberal Democrats are criticizing the Biden administration’s inaction, the issue of illegal immigration is starting to receive slightly more attention by the mainstream media.
Of course, that does not mean outlets like CNN are ready to endorse the proposals being put forth by Republicans vying for the 2024 presidential nomination.
During a recent campaign stop in New Hampshire, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) fielded a question about what he would do to remedy the scourge of illegal immigration if he were elected president.
He responded: “Deport them. Eliminate sanctuary cities.”
Although many in the audience clearly approved of his stance, CNN correspondent Eva McKend offered a contrarian view in a social media post about his remarks.
At Scott Brown's New Hampshire BBQ, Sen. Scott is asked what should be done about undocumented immigrants living in America.
"Deport them," he answers. "Eliminate sanctuary cities," he adds. Crowd applauds.
This is of course is not feasible as you can't deport 10 million+ ppl
— Eva McKend (@evamckend) September 7, 2023
Any support her assertion received in the replies was difficult to find amid all of the posts rejecting her claim that Scott’s straightforward plan is “not feasible.”
One succinct response asked: “Why not?”
Several others took issue with her claim that there are only about 10 million undocumented migrants living in the U.S.
“We can deport 30 million,” one user wrote. “That 10 [million] figure is two decades old. It’s undoubtedly much, much higher.”
Immigration has become a key issue for Scott and other GOP White House hopefuls thus far on the campaign trail. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the topic as his first major policy proposal, signaling that he would empower individual states to deport migrants separately from any federal effort to do so.
“If the feds have the responsibility to do immigration, and they decide to just not do it, then are we just helpless and we don’t have the laws enforced at all?” he asked. “I think the states have a role to play. I can tell you as president, we’re going to fully deputize all state and local governments to be able to enforce it.”
Front-runner Donald Trump has also laid out a plan to continue and expand many of the policies that kept illegal immigration numbers stable during his first term in the White House.
Stephen Miller, an adviser to the former president, declared: “For those passionate about securing our immigration system … the first 100 days of the Trump administration will be pure bliss — followed by another four years of the most hard-hitting action conceivable.”
