An exchange on NBC’s “Meet the Press” has ignited a national debate over the legal rights of illegal immigrants, with host Kristen Welker’s assertion of “due process” under the Constitution facing sharp rebuttal from Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds.
The conversation stemmed from the staggering number of migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border during President Joe Biden’s term.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data reveals approximately 8.5 million encounters from fiscal years 2021 to 2024. Welker cited the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees “due process” for any person within U.S. borders.
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Donalds countered that the sheer scale of illegal immigration under the Biden administration has rendered such a process untenable.
“First and foremost, when the framers wrote our Constitution, they never envisioned that there would be an executive that would allow millions of people to come into the country illegally. They never fathomed that,” Donalds stated. He further argued that the current administration is abusing border security laws, allowing millions to enter, and then using the court system to delay enforcement.
Donalds also highlighted the high rate of no-shows for immigration hearings. “Right now what we know is that when people came into the country illegally, almost 90% of them would not even go to the hearings,” he said. “So if you’re supposed to show up for a hearing and you do not go, what are we supposed to do as a country at that point?”
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The debate also touched upon the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member deported to El Salvador during the Trump administration.
Democrats criticized the deportation, while the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release and ensure his case proceeds as it would have before his deportation.
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