Immigrant Actor's Comments on Illegals Leave Conservatives Cheering, Libs Furious
Actor Antonio Sabato Jr., best known for his roles on “General Hospital” and “Melrose Place,” is an immigrant. He came to this country legally in the 1980s from his native Italy and has continued to live and work in this country for decades.
He’s also a Republican, something rarely seen in his profession, especially those who live in California. Active in GOP politics for some time and a major celebrity supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, Sabato plans to challenge Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat who represents a district west of Los Angeles.
In an appearance on Fox News this weekend, Sabato made comments about President Trump’s proposed wall and illegal immigration that are bound to have California liberals furious and his conservative supporters cheering.
“What other choice does the president have?” Sabato told host Steve Hilton. “His job is to protect the American people.”
.@AntonioSabatoJr on immigration debate: "The Democratic Party is always saying, 'Well if you want a border, if you want a wall, you're racist.' No no, we're Americans, we follow the Constitution." @NextRevFNC pic.twitter.com/MqXw3MWHJi
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 9, 2018
“We have thousands and thousands of people trying to get into our country,” Sabato continued.
The actor said support of the wall shouldn’t be considered a sign of racism.
“We have to protect our border,” Sabato said. “I can’t understand (why) we’re even talking about this, and the Democratic Party is always saying, ‘Well, if you want a border, you want a wall, you’re racist.’
“No, no. We’re Americans. We follow the Constitution. We have 26 beautiful amendments and we leave them untouched.”
Under Trump, Sabato said, “we put America first, and they (California) don’t like it, because they get their votes. California gets their votes from these illegal voters.
“Now (illegal immigrants) are allowed to drive cars, they’re allowed to do pretty much everything,” he added.
“It’s against the Constitution, and it’s against our country.”
Sabato was making reference to the lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra over the Trump administration’s plan to ask a citizenship question on the 2020 census.
The more population a state has, the more seats it gets in Congress — and the more electoral votes it gets.
Thus, even though illegal immigrants can’t legally vote (whether or not they do and in what numbers is open to debate), they can still influence how America votes by simply being in a certain state — unless, of course, you ask them whether they’re a citizen or not.
California is likely the biggest beneficiary of not asking whether or not someone is a citizen of this country during the census process. It’s estimated that California’s 2.35 million illegal immigrants, as of 2016, was by far the largest number for a single state, with 700,000 more than Texas, which has the second-highest number.
So it’s not surprising that Becerra would sue over the census, just as he’s sued to stop the border wall. His supporters are going to use moral blackmail, calling those who oppose these moves racists.
But most of them aren’t racists. As Sabato says, they’re just Americans — and perhaps enough of them will come out this November to make him Rep. Sabato.
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