Donald Trump, Immigration Plan Stirs Fierce Debate Between Jorge Ramos, Sean Hannity
Fox News Channel TV host Sean Hannity and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos had a heated debate Tuesday night over Donald Trump and illegal immigration.
Hannity vs. Ramos
The segment began on the "Hannity" show with clips of Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Trump condemning the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in the wake of the recent ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in Brussels. Cruz said the program -- which allows foreign nationals to live in the U.S. for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa -- needs "serious scrutiny." Trump, on the other hand, said the government should end the program altogether.
After playing the clips, Hannity introduced Ramos to his show and proceeded to attack him for criticizing Trump, who has also called for a wall on the southern border and the deportation of millions of undocumented workers.
"I have watched your coverage. And I've listened to the things you say. You throw around this word racism with a sense of being so casual I find offensive," said the Fox News host.
"And on numerous occasions, I've noticed, you take what Donald Trump said out of context, which I think is fundamentally unfair. It shows you are not objective in your own opinion, although I think you like to portray yourself as such. And when you go out there and say he wants to ban 1.5 billion from coming into the United States because of their religion, or when you said he's calling all Mexicans criminals and murderers and rapists, that is a false characterization on your part. Why do you do that? Why don't you report honestly, and then give your opinion?" Hannity questioned Ramos.
"I have simply been reporting what Donald Trump says," Ramos answered.
"That's not true," Hannity replied.
Ramos continued by referring to Trump's infamous remarks that Mexican immigrants are drug traffickers, criminals and rapists. He added, "He's absolutely wrong."
Hannity defended the real estate mogul, arguing that Trump was referring to only some Mexican immigrants.
Ramos rejected the idea of clamping down on immigrants entering the country, noting the contributions that immigrants make to the nation. He also accused Hannity of being too soft on Trump during a recent interview special.
In response, Hannity argued that the Univision news anchor is not concerned about national security.
"You don't care about the 640,000 Texans. You're taking his comments out of context. You're calling him racist. You're calling him bigoted. And you totally misrepresent what he said. And you think you're the superior reporter?" Hannity said. "I don't really need lectures from you, Jorge Ramos."
At another point during their contentious debate, Hannity asked Ramos to acknowledge that some immigrants commit rape and murder.
"Absolutely, it is happening. But then, I cannot blame the whole immigrant population for what some of them have done," Ramos said in response.
Ramos Confronts Trump
Last summer, Ramos and Trump became physical when the Mexican-American anchor challenged the billionaire businessman on his stance on immigration at a press conference. The confrontation began when Ramos stood up and began yelling out questions to Trump about immigration. In response, the GOP front-runner told Ramos to "go back to Univision" and had him removed from the event by security. Trump, however, let him return to the conference later on.
After being kicked out of Trump's press conference for speaking out of turn, Ramos defended his actions, telling "Anderson Cooper 360" that he was "just a reporter asking questions."
Ramos Makes Clinton Promise Not to Deport Children
Earlier this month, Ramos asked Hillary Clinton if she can make the promise to not deport undocumented immigrant children "who are already here" in the U.S.
"I will not deport children. I would not deport children. I do not want to deport family members, either, Jorge. I want to, as I've said, prioritize who would be deported: violent criminals, people planning terrorist attacks, anybody who threatens us. That's a relatively small universe."
Watch the debate below:
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