‘We don’t use the term illegal’: MSNBC pundit interrupts panel on 12-year-old girl brutally murdered by illegal immigrants to correct language, ‘they’re undocumented individuals’

During the discussion on Saturday with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez, the daughter of embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), asked about a future Republican administration “utilizing the National Guard, ICE, police forces to deport something like 11 million people.”

Roberts replied that the first objective is to “close the border,” then enact “the biggest mass deportation system ever in the history of America.” Roberts said, “It is unjust and illegal and evil that more than 10 million illegal aliens have come to this country. It’s imperative that we send those people back, invite them back to come through the legal system.”

Symone Sanders-Townsend, who previously worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Vice President Kamala Harris asked, “How do you plan to carry that out? Are you talking about going door-to-door?”

Roberts replied, “There’s going to be a lot of self-deportation. Secondly, there are great plans using the Department of Homeland Security to return these people back to south of the border.” He added, “A lot of them are committing crimes, like murdering the 12-year-old girl in Houston,” referring to Jocelyn Nungaray, who two Venezuelan migrants allegedly murdered.

Sanders-Townsend then cited a 2019 CATO Institute study in Texas alleging illegal immigrants were 37.1 percent less likely to be convicted of a crime than legal residents.

Roberts retorted, “What do you tell the parents of these people, those young girls that were killed? It’s absurd.”

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who was also on the panel, said, “What is the difference between an illegal immigrant who unfortunately engages in that activity…” but Sanders-Townsend interrupted and stated, “I want to be clear. We don’t use the term ‘illegal.’ Undocumented individuals.”

Roberts replied, “That’s sweet. They’re illegal aliens,” adding that most illegal migrants “are not even making an attempt to be legal.”

As the conversation shifted to the number of illegal migrants committing crimes in the US, Sanders-Townsend accused Roberts of “weaponizing a horrific murder to smear 11 million people.”

Later in the discussion, Roberts added, “Our analysis in Texas, Georgia, and New York, shows that a preponderance of the illegals who have come in are unattached males… and the disproportionate number of them are people who are not even making any attempt to be legal.”