Fox News Guest: There’s an ‘Invasion’ on Our Border, Dems Are Weaponizing That Word
Less than two weeks after the mass shooting in El Paso in which the accused shooter targeted Mexicans after apparently posting a racist manifesto warning of a “Hispanic invasion,” a Fox News guest complained that “there is an invasion” on America’s southern border.
Discussing the Trump administration’s recent rule change penalizing green-card holders who use government benefits, former Bush administration official Brad Blakeman conflated illegal and legal immigration on America’s Newsroom on Wednesday morning.
“Is not so,” Blakeman told co-anchor Sandra Smith when asked about criticism that it unfairly targets some immigrants. “We are a nation of laws. We expect people to obey our laws. Our citizens and those who seek to come to our country — you have to come legally. You have to do it by our terms.”
After fellow panelist and liberal commentator Leslie Marshall noted that the new rule goes after low-income legal immigrants and has nothing to do with illegal immigration, Blakeman doubled down on his previous position.
“Look, we want people to come here, but they need to follow the rules and the need to come here legally,” the longtime GOP operative said. “We have millions here illegally. Democrats have encouraged many more to come here through sanctuary cities.”
Claiming that there was a “rational basis” for the new regulations, Blakeman then added: “There is an invasion on our southern border. And the Democrats are trying to weaponize that word.”
Fox News, conservative media and the president have come under fire recently over their repeated use of the same “invasion” rhetoric that the accused El Paso shooter posted in his manifesto. Days after the shooting, Media Matters for America found that in 2019 Fox News made over 70 on-air references of an invasion of migrants and aired at least 55 clips of the president using that term.
The New York Times further reported that the alleged El Paso gunman had echoed the rhetoric of popular conservative media figures, finding hundreds of examples of right-wing media personalities referencing a migrant “invasion” and cultural “replacement” — two major themes in the shooter’s manifesto.
Watch the clip above,l via Fox News.
