On New Day Saturday, CNN co-hosts Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul provided an unchallenged forum to an anti-deportation activist who recently went viral in a video showing him refusing to cooperate with ICE agents who were trying to arrest two illegal immigrants who were inside his car.
Blackwell and Paul are the same CNN weekend duo who last year infamously used their show to defend an illegal immigrant who was arrested by ICE and deported to Mexico without ever informing viewers that he was wanted for committing a homicide in his home country.
Apparently picking up on an article and video posted by the Washington Post, the segment began at 7:29 a.m. Eastern with footage of sanctuary activist Bryan MacCormack in his car arguing with ICE agents about whether their warrant gave them legal authority to force him to open his door to arrest his passengers as he insisted that the warrant had to be signed by a judge. Law-enforcement officers should observe the legal niceties -- but the argument's a little audacious coming from people who advocate shamelessly for illegal immigrants.
MacCormack -- who is executive director of the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement -- was then presented live as a guest where he got to spend time encouraging those who oppose deportations to learn their rights so they can successfully thwart the actions of ICE agents.
CNN doesn't have any skepticism about "sanctuary" activists -- like whether businesses love the cheap labor. One local supporter wrote "The people served by CCSM are primarily Mexican agricultural workers without whose labor many of our farms would fail."
At no point did either host ask their guest how much of a criminal record the two illegals may have had which might have triggered ICE to come after them. The Washington Post noted that MacCormack had driven them to and from traffic court, but that could mean they committed serious offenses like DUI or driving without insurance rather than minor infractions.
The liberal activist (who was just called an "immigrant rights activist" was allowed to complain that ICE "has absolutely no regard for disrupting the lives of community members -- of immigrants in our country." No one in this segment used the word "illegal" or even "undocumented." MacCormack called them "neighbors."
Toward the end of the segment, Blackwell further invited his guest to encourage viewers to learn how to thwart arrest attempts by ICE agents as he posed: "So what is the training that you're going through that prepared you for this? And how can other people who are in this position know what their rights under the Constitution are?"
MacCormack talked up his "know your rights" education for illegal aliens: "I think this is very important because we do have rights. And those rights have power, and exercising those rights could be the difference between our neighbors going home to their families at night or being thrust into the deportation pipeline."
Paul echoed that in a follow-up: "And why do you think those rights are not more prolific? Why are they not part of the conversations that are being had with people so they can protect themselves?"
CNN is the Open Borders Network, making sure illegal aliens can "protect themselves" from deportation.
