Fox News Hosts Battle House Republican Who Joined Dems to Extend Protections for Haitian Migrants: ‘That’s Not What I Said’

A pair of Fox News hosts battled with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Sunday over the latter’s support for extending temporary protected status for Haitian migrants.

The fracas went down as The Big Weekend Show co-host Joey Jones questioned Lawler on H.R. 1689, a bill requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status.

Lawler is a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Jones began by asking Lawler if he sees the irony that the congressman’s talking points are “used by Democrats to attack the Trump administration” and challenged him on “the righteousness of your argument,” which he argued doesn’t align with President Donald Trump’s mandate on immigration.

Lawler fired back: “So, the bottom line is two things can be true at the same time. The Biden administration’s policies were an absolute disaster, and our immigration system is fundamentally broken. I have always said I’m against illegal immigration. I’ve always said I want secure borders, I want people to come here legally and lawfully. TPS is intended to be temporary, primarily related to humanitarian relief, and in the case of Haiti, it has been significant.”

Co-host Tomi Lahren then jumped in, asking, “Congressman, I just want to interrupt you a little bit. Congressman, I understand what you’re saying here, but correct me if I’m wrong. It sort of sounds like were saying we must keep the world’s people protected in this country until the world’s problems are solved, or until we go and solve the problems of other countries.

“That’s not what I said, that’s not what I said,” Lawler repeated, adding that Haiti is “a longtime ally” and “we want stability on the ground in Haiti.”

As Lawler continued to attempt to get his point across, Jones cut in, saying, “Fair enough. You voted to extend it. 200-plus of your colleagues voted not to — there’s a disagreement within the Republican Party. I just want to say thank you for coming on. It’s not an easy issue to fix. It’s not something that we will fix in the segment, but please continue to come on even when we disagree with you because that’s what conversation is and we don’t get enough of it. Congressman Mike Lawler, thank you for joining us.”

But after the interview ended, Jones kept going, saying, “I would imagine the congressman is still listening, but I want to filibuster and I didn’t need him to react to this.”

“Everything he just said is the exact arguments Democrats use against mass deportation in the Trump policy for deporting people and how the Trump administration has been doing it. He may agree with that statement — he may not — but I can roll the tape and put it out there, every one of those arguments he laid out is exact same argument people are using against mass deportation in general,” he continued.

Lahren added: “Yeah, you’re exactly right, that’s what’s frustrating for me, is that Democrats tell us we must have migrants or illegal aliens working in XYZ sector, otherwise those sectors will fail — there’s no way Americans will do those jobs. We hear it over and over again we mostly hear from the left. To me is disappointing to hear from the right. I understand the unique position and I respect him for coming on. I know it’s not easy, but for me, the answers did not make me feel better.”

The confrontation wasn’t Lawler’s first Fox News brawl.

Earlier this month, he clashed with Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle over the Dignity Act, his proposed legislation to allow undocumented immigrants who have resided in the U.S. for extended periods of time to live and work legally.

Ingraham hammered the congressman repeatedly on the details of the bill, calling out Lawler’s comment that undocumented immigrants need to be pulled “out of the shadows” as the congressman tried to speak.

Watch above via Fox News.

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