“All people coming into this country have merit, they shouldn’t be subjected to a points system,” said CNN’s Jim Acosta on Wednesday, continuing his de facto advocacy for a standards-free policy in determining which foreigners are permitted to enter the homeland.
Acosta joined CNN colleagues Erin Burnett and John Avlon to reflect on his earlier exchange with White House Senior Advisor Stephen Miller regarding President Donald Trump’s proposed reforms to immigration policy.
Acosta drew on the “Make America Great Again” slogan to continue his opposition to a meritocratic immigration system:
An unskilled person who doesn’t speak English coming into America might give birth to a Nobel laureate, or an astrophysicist, or a neurosurgeon. That is what has always been great about America.
Offering up a historical analysis, Acosta simplistically framed America’s historical immigration trends as “always [taking in] all kinds of people”:
The American experience has always been, and the Statue of Liberty is, I think, an example of that, which is why I raised it, that we’ve always welcomed all kinds of people from all walks of life into this country.
Acosta described Stephen Miller as belligerent, an analysis Burnett agreed with.
I do think when they’re attacking the news media … they’re losing the argument. And I think what you saw today in the briefing room was the top policy officer berating reporters. …
I was just essentially trying to test Stephen Miller on a couple of those points, and I think what you saw unfold in the briefing room is that he really just couldn’t take that kind of heat and exploded before our eyes.
Watch Acosta’s comments below.
Acosta pinned the following tweet to his Twitter profile:
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Acosta presents himself as a politically objective and non-partisan news media figure. CNN similarly presents itself as a politically objective and non-partisan news media outlet, marketing itself as “The Most Trusted Name In News.”
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