MSNBC guest calls out Fox News’ racist lies about immigration as a “contemptible way of trying to get more ratings
Chai Komanduri: “Immigration is not a toxic issue in America. However, it is a toxic issue on Fox. On Fox, you know, it’s a nonstop, never-ending border crisis”
Published
Citation From the March 23, 2021, edition of MSNBC's The Beat with Ari Melber
ARI MELBER (HOST): Let's start with why so much of what we just walked through, indebted to you, may sound like a surprise. Why is it that this broad support feels surprising after what we just lived through?
CHAI KOMANDURI (GUEST): Yeah. I think we need to dispense with what is becoming Washington consensus, that immigration is some kind of untouchable third rail of politics.
Immigration has never been more popular. As you pointed out, historically now, more Americans favor increased immigration as opposed to decreased immigration. More Americans favor a pathway to citizenship -- but in huge amounts, 69% -- perhaps thanks to Trump. But also, because the changing demographics is finally catching up to polling. That's just a fact.
Immigration is not a toxic issue in America. However, it is a toxic issue on Fox. On Fox, you know, it's a nonstop, never-ending border crisis. It's always the Democrats fault. The immigrants are always bringing in drugs and crime, etcetera.
And, you know, Fox News hosts like Tucker Carlson and others know this simply is not true. They know that immigrants are not carrying in more crime and drugs. In fact, statistically, they are far less likely to commit crimes.
What he is going at, is what I would thing -- what I would like to call a new southern strategy. The old southern strategy was Black versus white binary.
This new southern strategy is white versus non-white. And he's specifically attacking the Latino nature -- the brown skin nature, quite frankly -- of these immigrants and really tapping into anxiety about the nation's changing demographics really in a contemptible way of trying to get more ratings.