On the January 16 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly agreed with a caller's assertion that illegal immigrants “bring corrupting influences” to the United States, including “a third-world value system” that “can corrupt the education system.” O'Reilly replied: “Absolutely. And that's why the dropout rate is so high.”

O'Reilly went on to claim that "[i]f you say, 'F you,' to a teacher in Mexico, that teacher can go out and beat the hell out of you -- and worse, if you do it in El Salvador [or] Nicaragua. ...You disrespect a teacher down there, you're gonna be bleeding." While Mexico and Nicaragua reportedly do not ban corporal punishment in schools outright, "[c]orporal punishment is prohibited in schools" in El Salvador “by article 90 of the General Law on Education,” according to the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children.

From the January 16 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

CALLER: A lot has changed, and, you know, I think money and freedom can be corrupting to certain people, and if they come here and have a decent job and make more money and certainly have more freedom, they can be corrupted. But they also bring corrupting influences, too, like a third-world value system, which may not place much value on education, that can corrupt the education system.

O'REILLY: Absolutely. And that's why the dropout rate is so high. But let me just make one point: If you say “F you,” to a teacher in Mexico, that teacher can go out and beat the hell out of you -- and worse, if you do it in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and those places. So, those kids would never dare, because there's no, like, rules down there. You disrespect a teacher down there, you're gonna be bleeding. We'll be right back.