Opinion
In what is a clear demonstration of how America has been grappling with the problem of illegal immigrants committing violent crimes in this country for quite some time, we look back at a debate between former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera from almost 20 years ago.
Rivera has long been an advocate for illegal aliens, so it’s no surprise that his stance in this clip from 2007 is in defense of a man guilty of manslaughter. He and O’Reilly begin the debate by discussing Alfredo Ramos, who was ordered to serve 24 years in prison and then be deported for a drunk driving crash that killed two teenage girls.
Prior to the crash that claimed the lives of the girls, Ramos was previously convicted of three separate charges of public intoxication, identity theft, as well as a DUI.
Despite his extensive criminal history and illegal status in the country before the accident, Ramos was never reported to federal immigration officials due to a Virginia Beach Police Department “sanctuary policy” enacted in 2005 prohibiting authorities from even asking him about his immigration status.
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Rivera approached the story in 2007 from an angle that the illegal immigrant who killed two teenagers was no different than any other drunk driver in Virginia.
“I think you have the story almost exactly wrong, my friend. I think that we’re talking about drunk driving,” Rivera stated. “And there were 347 drunk driving fatalities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the year 2005. I think this may be the first drunk-driving story we have done from Virginia.”
Ramos’s case would only be comparable to other drunk driving cases if he weren’t an illegal immigrant. You don’t get to say, “Well, the bank robber was no different than somebody making a withdrawal if not for the gun.”
No, the bank robber gets charged with robbery and illegal possession of a firearm, while the charges get upped to armed robbery. It’s relevant, Geraldo from 2007.
“It’s not an illegal alien story, Bill. It’s a drunk driving story,” Rivera falsely stated.
“Here’s why you’re wrong. When you enter this country illegally, number one, you have no right to be here, no right. That’s the truth,” O’Reilly fired back in a debate that grew incredibly heated.
“Now, I just want to get this straight. You, Geraldo Rivera, with teenage daughters, are telling me that you are OK with somebody sneaking into the country, becoming drunk, getting convicted of a DUI, and staying here?” he asked. “You’re all right with that?”
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Too Many Stories Of Murder And Rape
When the first approach – lumping Ramos into the category of any ol’ drunk driving case – didn’t work, Rivera tried to convince O’Reilly that the illegal immigrant was being unfairly highlighted due to his race.
“My nightmare is my daughters having anything to do with a person driving drunk. That’s my nightmare,” he hit back. “It could be a Jewish drunk. It could be a Polish drunk. It could be an Irish drunk. It could be an Italian drunk. What the hell difference does it make?”
The difference is that he was here illegally. His nationality does not matter.
“He doesn’t have a right to be in this country!” O’Reilly shouted.
The almost two-decade-old clip is extraordinarily relevant considering recent news. We have seen too many instances of illegal immigrants who have “no right to be in this country” committing heinous crimes in recent days.
On Wednesday, The Political Insider reported on ICE Boston agents arresting a 34-year-old Guatemalan illegal immigrant recently convicted of assault and battery on a child under the age of 14. He had previously been released by the Gloucester District Court, despite ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Boston having filed an immigration detainer against him.
Additionally, authorities in Maryland just arrested an illegal migrant from El Salvador and charged him with murder in the case of a two-year-old who was shot and killed this month while on a walk in the park with his mother.
Not to mention the case of the University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly killed by suspect Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien.
Rivera, in 2007, wouldn’t find these cases any more newsworthy than if they involved somebody who is Irish.
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