Student Journalist Challenges O'Reilly For Using The “Dehumanizing” Term “Illegal Immigrants”

Liam Knox: "I Don’t Think You Totally Understood What I Said … I’m Saying People Can’t Be Illegal”

From the November 16 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

Video file

LIAM KNOX: First of all, I just want to say referring to these students, these immigrants as “illegal immigrants” is I think a little inaccurate. People can't be illegal, their actions can be illegal. These are undocumented students, undocumented immigrants.



BILL O'REILLY (HOST): Alright, let me stop you there.



KNOX: I'll answer your question now, though.



O'REILLY: Let me stop you there. Wait, wait -- Mr. Knox, let me stop you there.



KNOX: Sure.



O'REILLY: OK? You are a journalist, you're the editor of the newspaper. Surely, you know --



KNOX: I'm one of the news editors, but yeah.



O'REILLY: Alright, whatever it is, you're practicing journalism at Tufts University.



KNOX: That's right, yeah.



O'REILLY: Surely you know there is a federal law that prohibits people from crossing into this country without proper certification --



KNOX: Yes, yes and they can --



O'REILLY: Or overstaying their visas once they are granted. That is a crime.



KNOX: Yeah, I don't think you totally understood what I said. I think -- I'm saying people can't be illegal, so they can be illegally immigrants is different --



O'REILLY: Therefore, they are branded illegal aliens, alright --



KNOX: Yeah, but that branding is a little dehumanizing.



O'REILLY: Alright, now that's not for you to say.



KNOX: I think that what they're protesting today --



O'REILY: As a reporter, that is not for you to say. If you're writing an editorial --



KNOX: Sure, I think it is the job of all reporters to say.



O'REILLY: No, it is not.



KNOX: I think that media -- one of the media's problems today --



O'REILLY: You're gonna flunk your journalism class. You are supposed to report the facts. Now, what are the facts of kids walking out of Tufts today? Why are they doing it?



KNOX: I'll tell you what the facts are. I can tell you that, and I stand by my previous comments too.



So, this isn't just about protesting Donald Trump. At Tufts and at other universities, a lot of the movements are about pressuring institutions to uphold their sort of -- a lot of them have issued statements post-election about their unwavering values, a lot of rhetoric has come out about sort of sticking to the liberal values, sort of sticking to protecting undocumented students. Specifically at Tufts, students were asking Tufts to designate the campus a sanctuary campus, which would mean actual, practical implications, which would mean that immigration officials couldn't come in.

Previously:

O'Reilly: “The Left's Secret Immigration Plan” Is To Have “Traditional America Wiped Off The Face Of The Earth”

O'Reilly Argues The San Francisco Official Who Challenged Fox News On Immigration Policy Needs To Be Arrested



Bill O'Reilly: An “Illegal Immigration Apartheid” Is “Now On Display In Certain Parts Of The Country” Due To Lax Immigration Policies



Bill O'Reilly: People Who Are “Nativist” And “Don't Want The Immigrants Here ... Are All In Trump's Camp”