A video clip featuring Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) exposing the hypocrisy of radical left-wing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison during a hearing and calling him out on it has resurfaced and is going viral for a second time. The issue up for discussion was open borders and illegal immigration, a topic that hits home for Minnesota after massive fraud schemes involving illegal aliens from Somalia have been uncovered over the last year.
“Do you think that people who are here in this country illegally, meaning they either entered illegally or overstayed a visa, should be deported? Simple yes or no,” Moreno went on to ask state Rep. Harry Niska, a Minnesota Republican. Niska wasted no time providing his answer, demonstrating he has principles and stands by them. “The rule of law. Yes,” Niska replied.
Moreno then asked Ellison the same question. The attorney general stalled out like a first-time driver learning stick shift. Following a lengthy pause, Ellison said, “If they have a pending asylum petition, I think it should be heard. If they have some basis for their presence in the country, I think we…ordinary due process should take place.”
“Just from my perspective, it’s simple. I’m not a big shot lawyer like you,” Moreno said. “Just a quick question: if you enter the country illegally, or if you overstay a visa, should you be deported?” Ellison responded, “My simple answer is, sir, it depends.” The report noted the answer was just taking the long way home to answer in the negative.
Moreno wasn’t about to let Ellison slide by with that answer. “Okay, so if somebody breaks into your home, should they be arrested for breaking and entering, or does it depend?” Moreno asked the Minnesota Democrat. “It’s an entirely different scenario,” Ellison said. “How’s that?” Moreno quickly fired back. Ellison then tried to split hairs by breaking the two situations into different criminal classifications.
“Immigration is essentially a civil, and breaking into my home is a criminal matter,” Ellison said. “Oh, okay, got you,” Moreno said. “So there’s laws that should be enforced. So we shouldn’t enforce civil violations?” Ellison replied, “We absolutely should enforce them.” The Ohio Republican pressed Ellison, asking, “But you just said that it’s a civil matter, so it’s different. So if somebody commits a civil infraction, it shouldn’t be enforced?”
“No, it should be,” Ellison stated. “So they should be deported,” Moreno said. “No, they should have due process that is associated with their petition,” the Minnesota Democrat replied. “So the act of entering the country illegally, you think we should say, well, did you really do it or not do it? It’s pretty obvious that they did, right?” Moreno continued his questioning. “It would depend on the facts of the situation,” the attorney general said.
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“I just gave you the facts,” Moreno said, interrupting Ellison. “They entered the country without permission.” Ellison then attempted to inject some “what ifs” into his explanation as a means of avoiding a clear cut answer. “But senator, what if they had a good faith basis to say they would be persecuted in their home country and subjected to real oppression there? Under international law, there are provisions for them to make a case,” Ellison said.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video