Pete Hegseth accuses a “Breakfast with Friends” guest of “helping to harbor an illegal immigrant”

The guest works with a group supporting Edith Espinal, an undocumented immigrant targeted for deportation despite living in the U.S. peacefully since immigrating as a child over 20 years ago

On October 16, Fox & Friends visited a diner in Columbus, Ohio, for reactions to the previous night’s Democratic primary debate. Pete Hegseth spoke to a table of two Democrats, one of whom -- Adam -- mentioned that he works to support Edith Espinal, an undocumented immigrant living in Columbus in sanctuary from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Hegseth asked Adam, “Is she here illegally?” prompting a correction that “she is here undocumented.”

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Citation From the October 16 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends

Later in the show, when Hegseth talked to a table of several Republicans, he accused Adam of “helping to harbor an illegal immigrant.”

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Citation From the October 16 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends

According to The New Republic, Espinoza immigrated from a high-crime town in Mexico in 1995 at age 16 with her father. She lived what she called a “normal life” of working and caring for children for decades, until her asylum bid was denied in 2015 under the Obama administration. She has spent years appealing the decision, but in January 2017, ICE ordered her to begin check-ins with an officer every three months, which soon became every two weeks, culminating in a deportation notice and ankle monitor in August 2017. Columbus Mennonite Church offered Espinal sanctuary, protecting her from deportation by keeping her at the church, which ICE is not expected to enter.