In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump ratcheting up the deportations of illegal aliens, MSNBC contributor Maria Hinojosa has been making appearances on the liberal news network urging President Biden to thwart Trump from keeping his campaign promise by pardoning illegals before the Democrat leaves office.

On Thursday's All In show, as MSNBC host Chris Hayes devoted a segment to fretting over the mass deportation that Trump has promised. Hinojosa, who has hosted shows on PBS and on NPR, admitted that her suggestion sounds "over the top" as she discussed how liberals might try to derail the new President's plans:

... people are talking about talking to neighbors about doing human chains around homes -- a lot of talk about having to do actual civil disobedience, bodies in front of buses. The problem is you can't do that in front of a plane, but there is one thing right now, Chris, that Joe Biden -- that Joe Biden can do, right? And I know it sounds kind of like over the top, but you know? Mass deportation sounds way over the top.

After Hayes injected, "Yeah," she continued:

He should immediately create an executive order pardon path to citizenship right now without waiting. He should immediately start shutting down those detention facilities because, once this train leaves the station, it's going to be happening, and, unfortunately, Chris, so many people are just not going to realize it because they're not connected.

A bit later, she used an arguably provocative choice of words as she asserted that activists like her need to "arm" illegal immigrants with the ability to "believe in themselves." Here's Hinojosa: "So, at the same time, what I'm hearing from people on the ground is: 'We cannot play into the mass hysteria either,' right? And we have to arm people, especially immigrants, to believe in themselves."

Notice how MSNBC touted she's a "Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist." This is the ideological flavor of journalists favored by the Pulitzer juries.

As Hinojosa appeared on The Saturday Show alongside the ACLU's Lee Gelernt to discuss plans by liberals to resist increased deportation, she claimed there is no "criminal threat" as she admitted that her idea had been called "extreme" by some:

...it's a big issue because it was made a big issue, and most of it is based on lies, right? There is no criminal threat -- there is no invasion. That's not happening. One thing that could happen immediately, though, Jonathan -- and I'll say it again and people were like, "Well, that's a very extreme position to take, Maria." Well, mass deportation is an extreme position to take in our country, and so Joe Biden should immediately create a pathway for citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are in the United States. Absolutely do it now -- executive order, whatever he has to do -- and that would put such a halt into the entire plan.

Appearing again on Sunday's Ayman show, she declared: "It's completely insane what Donald Trump is talking about and his crew of men who think it's great to separate mothers from their children as a form of punishment."

Transcripts follow:

MSNBC's All In

November 14, 2024

8:42 p.m. Eastern

CHRIS HAYES: But people who oppose mass deportation have also been preparing, and plans to resist are getting put in place around the country as we speak. Maria Hinojosa is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and the founder of Futuro Media, and she joins me now. ... People are -- there's a lot, I know, from people that I'm close to and other folks, and there are a lot of discussions happening right now.

MARIA HINOJOSA, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. The big word right now -- and we've been through this before, right? Because during the Obama administration, then during Trump, already we've had this experience. Noncooperation. What does that mean? If they come to your home, they don't open the door -- you don't give your name. You are -- people are talking about talking to neighbors about doing human chains around homes -- a lot of talk about having to do actual civil disobedience, bodies in front of buses. The problem is you can't do that in front of a plane, but there is one thing right now, Chris, that Joe Biden -- that Joe Biden can do, right? And I know it sounds kind of like over the top, but you know? Mass deportation sounds way over the top.

HAYES: Yeah.

HINOJOSA: He should immediately create an executive order pardon path to citizenship right now without waiting. He should immediately start shutting down those detention facilities because, once this train leaves the station, it's going to be happening, and, unfortunately, Chris, so many people are just not going to realize it because they're not connected.

HAYES: So here's my question as I think about this, right? The scale to me is -- like, they're going to do something. They're going to issue executive orders and start doing something. Barack Obama, to your point, for two years that administration deported a ton of people, and they would say, "Felons, not families -- we're targeting folks that have criminal record and outstanding warrants." This was the argument they would make. I guess the question is like: There's different scales that this could be that seem to be to range from like bad to genuinely horrifying.

HINOJOSA: We've seen those things already.

HAYES: Yeah.

HINOJOSA: So we're in New York City at the Trump administration during his era. There were ICE agents in front of Hostos Community College on 149th Street in the Grand Concourse right here in New York City, right? We -- I was there covering the mass deportation that happened at a raid in a chicken processing plant in central Mississippi. We've seen that kind of a raid. It was the largest -- over 700 workers.

HAYES: That was, I think, set a record at the time...

HINOJOSA: Set a record. Postville, Iowa, before that had set a record. So there will be another record set or we're going to go into, what a pork processing plant, and we'll take 800 workers. Yes, we have seen it. It's horrific. It is children coming home and there's an empty home. So, at the same time, what I'm hearing from people on the ground is: "We cannot play into the mass hysteria either," right? And we have to arm people, especially immigrants, to believe in themselves.

HAYES: Okay, see, this is -- you're identifying precisely the thing that I am navigating every day here. The Justice -- Department of Justice -- which is like they are trying -- there is a combination of them doing things that are meant to intimidate -- meant to frighten -- meant to send a message about how big, bad, and tough they are -- that are genuinely bad, but also part of the effect is to get -- is to hysteria.

HINOJOSA: Yeah.

HAYES: That's -- they want that to be part of the job.

(...)

MSNBC's The Saturday Show

November 16, 2024

6:45 p.m. Eastern

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Maria, you've been to the border. You've traveled the country talking about this issue. Do you have any faith the American people will push back against something that -- at least according to this last election -- was a big issue for voters this past election?

MARIA HINOJOSA, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Right, but it's a big issue because it was made a big issue, and most of it is based on lies, right? There is no criminal threat -- there is no invasion. That's not happening. One thing that could happen immediately, though, Jonathan -- and I'll say it again and people were like, "Well, that's a very extreme position to take, Maria." Well, mass deportation is an extreme position to take in our country, and so Joe Biden should immediately create a pathway for citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are in the United States. Absolutely do it now -- executive order, whatever he has to do -- and that would put such a halt into the entire plan.

The thing is, Jonathan, is that, as we know, immigrants are not bringing in crime. They are not bringing in the threat. Will the American people use their bodies to stop this? It's going to be necessary. I agree with Lee (Gelernt). It's going to be necessary. But is it going to be a quick, you know, kind of outpouring? No, unfortunately, it's not.