Todd Starnes, who hosts the “Fox News & Commentary” radio show, argued Sunday that the President should direct immigration enforcement agents to arrest any undocumented guests at his State of the Union address Tuesday.
“[House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi [D-CA] has decided to turn the U.S. Capitol into a sanctuary — a safe haven — for people who are living in our nation illegally,” Starnes wrote in an opinion piece on Fox News’ website, after citing ABC News’ reporting that several undocumented immigrants will attend the address as Democrats’ guests.
“In response, President Trump should fill the remainder of the House gallery with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Imagine the message he could send to the world if he directed ICE agents to arrest every illegal alien in the House chamber — live on national television.”
Elsewhere in the op-ed, Starnes characterizes young undocumented immigrants, including those advocating for themselves on Capitol Hill by occupying lawmakers’ offices, as “foreign invaders,” “an angry horde of illegals” and “a rampaging mob of profane illegals.”
He also suggests that lawmakers who host undocumented people at the State of the Union should be investigated for “harboring illegal aliens.”
Democrats and pro-immigrant activists are attempting to pressure President Trump and congressional Republicans to provide legal protections for young undocumented immigrants formerly protected by DACA — the Obama-era executive action shielding qualified undocumented young people from deportation that Trump ended on Sept. 5 of last year.
Lawmakers say they’re aiming to come up with a deal for these so-called “Dreamers” by March 5. In return for these protections, the White House has demanded billions of dollars in border security funds, eliminating the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program and all but eliminating immigration based on the reunification of families — or “chain migration,” as Republicans have labeled the policy.
In reality, DACA recipients with work permits expiring before March 5 were given little notice to renew those permits by the newly-announced Oct. 5 deadline last year, and roughly 120 former DACA recipients lose the policy’s protections every day. Those with permits expiring after March 5 were not allowed to renew them.
H/t The Hill
