Geraldo Rivera condemns the term 'illegal alien' but Hannity isn't buying it

It’s not uncommon for Geraldo Rivera and Dan Bongino to disagree during their many joint appearances on Hannity, but on Thursday night when Rivera argued against the use of the term “Illegal alien,” he got it from both Bongino and Sean Hannity as the two barely let him finish a sentence. Geraldo believes the term is dehumanizing, but never really got the chance to explain why as he was continually shouted down. However, there was one moment, though brief, in which Rivera was allowed to speak uninterrupted.

“Illegal immigrant presupposes that adjudication has been made. Legal, illegal. You only get to be illegal when an adjudication has been made,” Rivera said. “So when you call someone presumptively illegal, and usually it's coupled with alien, illegal alien, not only do you make the judgment that the person is there illegally, as if you were the judge in an immigration court, but now he's also an alien.”

Video transcript

GERALDO RIVERA: Unauthorized and undocumented are different than illegal. Illegal is someone that--

DAN BONGINO: Why is it unauthorized?

GERALDO RIVERA: --a judge has said--

DAN BONGINO: Why is it unauthorized?

GERALDO RIVERA: --you're-- you've been found guilty.

DAN BONGINO: Why is it unauthorized?

SEAN HANNITY: Geraldo, you're splitting hairs here.

DAN BONGINO: Why is it unauthorized?

SEAN HANNITY: No, you're-- you're playing verbal gymnastics.

KYLIE MAR: On Hannity Thursday night, Fox News correspondent at large Geraldo Rivera was continually shouted down as he attempted to make the case against using the term illegal alien. Though he did get one brief opportunity to make his point uninterrupted.

GERALDO RIVERA: When you call someone presumptively illegal, and usually, it's coupled with alien, illegal alien, not only do you make the judgment that the person is there illegally as if you were the judge in immigration court, but now he's also an alien.

KYLIE MAR: The peace was short lived though as Sean Hannity came to the defense of the term that's used freely among Fox News hosts.

SEAN HANNITY: It is a legal definition. It has been statutory language going back for decades and decades.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

We're not saying you're a martian.

GERALDO RIVERA: It's a trigger-- I think the left goes to far like with gender neutral.

KYLIE MAR: The Biden administration has proposed removing the word alien from immigration law for the exact reasons Rivera was trying to convey.

GERALDO RIVERA: I think when you use the expression illegal alien, you are trying to make people think negatively of that person who has come across without documents.

DAN BONGINO: You're just stating a fact.

GERALDO RIVERA: You're setting the-- you're setting the--

DAN BONGINO: Geraldo, you're stating a fact.