There was a disturbing display of heartlessness on Tuesday’s episode of The View as ABC News co-host Sunny Hostin scoffed at the story of Debrina Kawam, the 57-year-old who was burned to death on a New York City subway on New Year’s Eve by a criminal illegal immigrant. She demanded Americans ignore such instances of illegal immigrants killing people and “care and the stats and the facts” that supposedly show they’re peaceful. She proclaimed this after saying America “lacks empathy” for illegals.
Hostin flaunted her callousness during a dust up with anti-Trump co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, which have become a more common occurrence since President Trump won the 2024 election.
In reaction to Farah Griffin noting that “87 percent [of Americans] support deporting criminal undocumented migrants,” Hostin went on a screed about how illegals supposedly don’t commit crimes despite all of them breaking immigration laws. In fact, she even tried to downplay the breaking of immigration laws:
We keep on talking about criminals and immigrants being criminals, and I just want people understand what the facts are and the stats are; is that undocumented immigrants are much less likely to have committed crimes than American citizens. American citizens commit more crimes than one who is undocumented. I also want to make the point that an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal because he or she is undocumented. That is a civil offense.
When she was allowed to get a word in, Farah Griffin compared Hostin’s dismissal of illegal immigrant crime to the Democrats ignoring the issue of crime in the election. She brought up Kawam just to have Hostin scoff at it, telling people they should pay more attention to “stats” and “facts”:
FARAH GRIFFIN: So, on the issue. It is true that statistically migrants in this country are less likely to commit crimes but the same thing Democrats did in the election where they’re like “crime is actually down.” When people know of this woman who was literally set on fire on a New York subway, they don't care about the stats say; she was murdered over the holidays by someone who should never have been in the country. Secondly, on visa overstays.
HOSTIN: They should care and the stats and the facts!
Heartless Hostin even had the nerve to complain that it was America that “lacks empathy.”
As someone who experiences chronic racial grievance, of course, Hostin also had to play the race card. She whined that calling illegal immigrants “illegals” was “xenophobic and racist.” She also laughably called the term “incorrect.” The cries of racism didn’t stop there.
Despite tacitly admitting that nearly two thirds of illegals were from countries south of the United States, she whined that they made up the bulk of the deportations and claimed, without evidence, that no other illegals were going to be deported:
And so what we are doing again is we have decided as a country to demonize a certain type of immigrant, a certain looking type of immigrant, and those immigrants are either from Central America or Mexico, and they are brown. There are a lot of undocumented immigrants here about 40 percent of them who come from other countries that aren't brown, but we are not rounding them up.
Farah Griffin tried to note that, “When you come here on a visa [and overstay] the U.S. government knows where you came from, what your name is, your place of origin…That doesn't have the same national security risk [as people who just crossover the border].” But she was interrupted by moderator Whoopi Goldberg, who went to a commercial.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
January 28, 2025
11:08:01 a.m. Eastern(…)
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: 87 percent support deporting criminal undocumented migrants. If he focuses on those –
[Crosstalk]
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: I don't know anybody in the world who wants to keep the criminals. I don't know anybody.
FARAH GRIFFIN: That's where we should be focused.
[Applause]
SUNNY HOSTIN: Can I say something? You know, we keep on talking about criminals and immigrants being criminals, and I just want people understand what the facts are and the stats are; is that undocumented immigrants are much less likely to have committed crimes than American citizens. American citizens commit more crimes than one who is undocumented.
I also want to make the point that an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal because he or she is undocumented. That is a civil offense. So, to call people “illegals” is in and itself I think xenophobic and racist. I do. And incorrect.
[Applause]
The other thing that I will say is that to Joy's point, on Sunday, there were 1,179 people arrested. Only 16 -- 613 of them were considered criminal arrests. That means that the rest appear to be either nonviolent offenders or have not committed any criminal offense at all.
And so what we are doing again is we have decided as a country to demonize a certain type of immigrant, a certain looking type of immigrant, and those immigrants are either from Central America or Mexico, and they are brown. There are a lot of undocumented immigrants here about 40 percent of them who come from other countries that aren't brown, but we are not rounding them up.
JOY BEHAR: That's true.
[Applause]
HOSTIN: We are not doing that. What we are doing, though, is – is making sure that these other people –
My final point is: to your first question, Whoopi, I think this country is a country that lacks empathy unless you have lived it, unless you have a lived experience, and that is very unfortunate. There are people who live life [sic] of privilege who don't walk in those steps and – Liz Cheney, for example, is an example of that. In 20 -- she was so against same-sex marriage. She opposed it and voted again it until she realized it caused a rift because her sister was a lesbian and she switched gears.
FARAH GRIFFIN: A bit of a conversation. Two quick things here. So, on the issue. It is true that statistically migrants in this country are less likely to commit crimes but the same thing Democrats did in the election where they’re like “crime is actually down.” When people know of this woman who was literally set on fire on a New York subway, they don't care about the stats say; she was murdered over the holidays by someone who should never have been in the country. Secondly, on visa overstays.
HOSTIN: They should care and the stats and the facts!
FARAH GRIFFIN: Real quickly on visa overstays. When you come here on a visa the U.S. government knows where you came from, what your name is, your place of origin. Yes, there are some who shouldn't be in the country anymore. That doesn't have the same national security risk of people we have no idea of their home origin, where they came from, why they’re here, where they’re staying.
GOLDBERG: Now, I'm stopping you because I got to go. We’ll be right back.
FARAH GRIFFIN: That’s why undocumented migrants from the border do matter.
