CNN’s Abby Phillip Gets Schooled by Rep. Lawler as He Shuts Down Her Claim That Deporting Illegals Is ‘Too Expensive’

CNN host Abby Phillip seemed more concerned with the cost of deporting illegal immigrants than the devastating financial and social toll their unchecked influx is already imposing on American taxpayers.

During an exchange with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Phillip’s attempt to question the feasibility of deportation efforts was met with a brutal dose of reality.

Phillip smugly suggested that deporting illegal immigrants might be too expensive, quipping that Homan “doesn’t seem to have a sense of the scope—what it’s going to take, what it’s going to cost.”

But Lawler, armed with cold, hard facts, quickly set the record straight, exposing the absurdity of Phillip’s argument.

Lawler brought up the tragic human cost of sanctuary policies, recounting a horrifying incident where a criminal alien—previously deported by the Trump administration but allowed back into the country by the Biden regime—committed an unthinkable act of violence by burning a woman alive on a subway.

He slammed sanctuary states and cities like New York for enabling such heinous crimes by refusing to cooperate with federal immigration law.

And it’s not just public safety that’s at stake—it’s the livelihoods of hardworking Americans. Lawler pointed out the hypocrisy of New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who burdens her state’s citizens with a $2,500 congestion pricing fee while simultaneously funneling taxpayer dollars into free services for illegal immigrants.

ABBY PHILLIP:
“He [Tom Homan] doesn’t seem to have a sense of the scope—what it’s going to take, what it’s going to cost.”

REP. MIKE LAWLER:
“Look, it’s already costing states like New York billions of dollars of taxpayer money to provide free housing, clothing, food, education, and health care to illegal immigrants.

“Then you have the situation where you have criminal aliens committing violent crimes, just as we saw a woman being burned alive on a subway by a man who was previously deported and then came back into the United States illegally. The fact is that what Tom Homan is going to do is start the process of deporting criminal aliens out of the United States.

“And sanctuary states and cities like New York need to cooperate. This idea that you’re going to violate federal immigration law, that you’re going to use taxpayer money to provide all of these free things—by the way, while Kathy Hochul in New York is charging New Yorkers $2,500 just for the privilege of driving to work in Midtown Manhattan.

“It’s a joke. This is the stuff that needs to stop. So yes, there is a price tag. Yes, it’s going to cost money. But the reality is we cannot continue to have this massive influx of illegal immigrants coming into the country.

“Since Joe Biden took office, over ten and a half million people [came in]. That’s unsustainable, and it’s costing us billions of dollars.”

Video via The Vigilant Fox:

WATCH: Reality Hits CNN Host Like a Truck After She Suggests Deporting Illegals Costs Too Much Money

ABBY PHILLIP: “He [Tom Homan] doesn’t seem to have a sense of the scope—what it’s going to take, what it’s going to cost.”

REP. MIKE LAWLER: “Look, it’s already costing states… pic.twitter.com/1MOBGZhQcD

— The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) December 27, 2024

Phillip’s attempt to paint deportation as an unfeasible expense backfired spectacularly, with Lawler exposing the far greater financial and societal cost of doing nothing.

Lawler reminded viewers of the real cost: Biden’s disastrous immigration policies have allowed more than 10.5 million illegal immigrants to flood into the country since he took office. The financial burden is staggering, running into billions of dollars annually.

In 2023, the far-left mayors of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Houston have banded together in a plea for a staggering $5 billion in federal aid from the Biden regime.

This request comes as these self-declared “sanctuary cities” grapple with the burgeoning costs of their own immigration policies.

These cities were finally given a dose of reality about what residents who live near the border have been going through for years. These cities have positioned themselves as havens for illegal immigrants. But now, it seems the weight of their decisions has come crashing down, and instead of bearing the cost of their own choices, they’re asking taxpayers from all over the nation to cover the tab.