From the May 24 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
Fox contributor blames House Democrats for the deaths of children detained by DHS
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
Video file
PETE HEGSETH (GUEST CO-HOST): Democratic Congresswoman Lauren Underwood making this shocking claim about migrant children at the southern border.
[BEGIN VIDEO]
REP. LAUREN UNDERWOOD (D-IL) That this point with five kids that have died, 5,000 separated from their families, I feel like -- and the evidence is really clear that this is intentional. It's intentional. It's a policy choice being made on purpose by this administration, and it's cruel and inhumane.
KEVIN MCALEENAN (ACTING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY): That's an appalling accusation and our men and women fight hard to protect people in our custody every single day.
[END VIDEO]
STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Well the congresswoman's remarks have since been stricken from the congressional record.
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): Yeah. And here to react to that is retired ICE director and Fox News contributor Tom Homan. Tom, I'm sure this makes you just as angry as it does Mr. McAleenan. What's your response?
TOM HOMAN (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): Well, it's a disgusting comment. I mean, the men and women of ICE, I mean the men and women of Border Patrol, they didn't talk about the 4,000 lives they saved last year. They have saved over 4,000 people that were in medical distress when they found them. These men and women of the Border Patrol, they're fathers and mothers and sons and daughters, too. They don't leave their love for life at the station when they start the shift. They do everything they can to protect these people. So to dishonor them in this way is insulting. But what this congresswoman should have did is ended her comment with, "and it's a failure of the Democratic side of the House that entices these people to make these dangerous journeys."
What she didn't mention, let's pull the curtain back on this -- when the FY19 appropriations bill was signed when that committee came together after the government shut down to come up with a budget, the Democrats on that committee added language to that bill that says ICE could not take action against a parent or a sponsor that harbored alien smuggler organization bring their child into this country. So ICE said that time, when they did that, that's going to cause a surge in unaccompanied alien children. So she and her party need to look in the mirror, because of their intentional actions, they opened the groundswell and now the UACs are at an all-time high like I said they would be. It was their actions that caused a lot of the UACs to come to this country to begin with.
Previously: