Fox hosts can't keep their facts straight while praising Trump's proposed cuts to legal immigration

Written by Media Matters Staff

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Fox & Friends’ co-hosts repeatedly botched facts while hyping a plan supported by President Donald Trump to slash legal immigration. The plan, which “would institute a merit-based system to determine who is admitted to the country,” would give preferential treatment to immigrants who speak English, which co-host Steve Doocy falsely framed as a current requirement, saying, “If you're going to get a green card, there is an English test and there's a civics test as well.” But that requirement is for immigrants becoming naturalized citizens, not green card applicants.

Later in the segment, co-host Brian Kilmeade praised the merit-based system, saying, “They don't want people that are going to go right on welfare, right on unemployment.” But under current federal law, “new immigrants already cannot access welfare programs during their first five years in the US.” From the August 3 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): When President Trump was running as private citizen Donald Trump, he promised an immigration system that would put the American worker first. And there he is framed yesterday by Sens. [David] Perdue [(R-GA)] and also [Tom] Cotton [(R-AR)]. And they have got an idea that they're putting forward in the form of a bill that would restrict and limit the number of people who could legally immigrate into this country.

AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): It's called the RAISE Act, and this is what it would do. It's a competitive application process. It's going to cut immigration, the people we let in, by 50 percent, but it's a merit-based system. So if you're -- if you can bring something into our economy and into our society, then you can come in. Here are some of the bullet points.

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Yeah, here's some of the things that we wanted -- that they highlighted yesterday. Sen. Perdue and Sen. Tom Cotton really worked with the president on this. Cut green cards from 1 million to 500,000, eliminate immigration preferences given to extended family members, and then, which you referred to, Ainsley, the merit-based system similar to Canada and Australia.

EARHARDT: Meaning you have to be skilled, self-sufficient, and you have to speak English.

KILMEADE: Yeah, that would be key. And they think it just helps to be able to speak English when you come here, and that's also an incentive to get here.

DOOCY: But keep in mind that's one of the requirements to get in the country. If you're going to get a green card, there is an English test and there's a civics test as well. The thing about the extended family though, which is interesting, currently the way it stands is anybody who knows somebody -- related by blood to somebody in the country can kind of get in. But, it would, instead, say, OK, immediate family members, you can still come in, spouses, your children, your minor children. But it would end the preferential treatment for adult children or extended family members. Only -- I think it was less than 20 percent of those who are allowed to legally immigrate into the country are actually brought into the country based on employment skills. Which is shocking.

[...]

KILMEADE: They don't want people that are going to go right on welfare, right on unemployment, and that's really the focus. Now look, some Republicans are against it, some Democrats said, I need to hear about more about this. We can do this thing called work through the committee process. Try to push it forward. Get everyone's input in. But most people agree we have to modernize our immigration system because last time we did that the -- all the footage was filmed in black and white. We need to modernize it, and instead of doing everything comprehensively, which every American seems to be unhinged by, and I understand it, maybe we're doing it piece by piece. The illegals here are understanding that there's a new sheriff in town, they're running for the borders, north and south.