Former Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera tore into President Donald Trump over his treatment of immigrants, saying that he was wrecking the fabric of longstanding communities and ruining the lives of innocent people.
This came during a discussion on MSNBC of podcaster Joe Rogan, who previously backed Trump, now criticizing him sharply over his use of immigration laws to detain students who protested against the Israeli occupation of Gaza.
“They’ve tried to claim, but lost on some court cases, that they’re just enforcing immigration laws, which they can do,” said anchor Ari Melber. “But there’s strong evidence that they’re using it to attack people’s free speech and First Amendment rights. Students in this country are allowed to participate in the full life of this country. Your thoughts on that, and Rogan hitting Trump on that?”
Rivera, while qualifying that he has high hopes for Trump’s Middle East policy on Gaza, said that “I also think that this is the most humiliating, harmful, racist government policy I’ve ever seen executed.”
“The targeting of Latinos is something that is — Ari, it is absolutely appalling,” he said. “They walk around now, the laborers on Long Island, worried that because they are Mexican, they’re going to get scooped up and their lives are going to be ruined and they’re going to be … deported to Africa someplace. I think it’s really it’s really disgusting. It’s lowbrow. It’s something that I believe is shameful in every regard.”
“I mean, it’s one thing to have a tough border, stop them at the border and all the rhetoric, I don’t care. Build a wall 100 miles high if you want to,” he continued. “But if people have been living here for some time and a peaceable way and in a, in a way where they’re law-and-order, God-fearing, you know, they love their families and what, and they’re working hard … why are you bothering these people? Why are you going after these people? Why are you targeting these people?”
“I’m telling you, places like East LA, you know, very heavily, 10 percent of LA is undocumented, East LA is probably 50 percent — East LA is going to build a wall around itself to keep … the immigration officers out,” Rivera said. “And why in the world are they wearing masks?”
“Yeah,” said Melber.
“Why are they wearing masks?” Rivera repeated. “The cops don’t wear masks. The FBI doesn’t wear a mask. Nobody wears masks. Nobody. Because they’re doing something honorable to protect the people. And yet only immigration officers wear masks. Yeah, it’s because they’re embarrassed by what they’re doing. It’s not for fear. It’s for embarrassment that they are scooping up Juan and Maria, the meat packer and the poultry processor, or the babysitter or the lawn mower, and they’re, they’re ruining their lives. I think it’s horrible.”
Watch the video below or at the link here.
– YouTube www.youtube.com