Ross, Noah Play Both Sides of Immigration Debate
If you listened to our media overlords you’d think late night TV is the most trusted source for news.
After all, virtually every time a late night comic trashes President Trump or the GOP it merits a standalone news article.
Surely these newly christened pundits have the answers we all seek.
Or not.
Take this recent chat featuring comedian Jeff Ross and Trevor Noah. The Comedy Central compatriots assembled on “The Daily Show” to promote Ross’ upcoming special “Jeff Ross Roasts the Border. Live from Brownsville, Texas.”
The two chummed it up for a spell before getting down to business. Declaring the need for a porous U.S. border. Until they didn’t.
Confused? You shouldn’t be. These are our intellectual betters. If you can’t catch up, that’s on you.
Ross unleashed first, sharing how making the special helped him understand the immigration battle better.
“We hear so much about immigration … what are the people living on the border, how do they actually feel about it,” Ross asks.
So what did he learn?
“Mexican people are the best. I think we should let all the Mexican people into America because you guy are the best business people we have. You took four ingredients and turned it into 40,000 restaurants.”
Is that a talking point or a gag? You decide.
Then Ross targets President Trump by taking him out of context.
“[Illegal immigrants] aren’t rapists and murderers as the president would have you think,” Ross said. He went on to extol the virtues of people whose first act on American soil is to disregard the country’s immigration laws.
“They’re good people and they come all through Africa, all through Europe, up through South America, Central America. They go through Mexico,” Ross says. “They get to this fence. They climb over this fence and then we throw them in jail.”
So Ross clearly wants open borders. Right? Anything less would be too cruel to consider. Noah then brings a dash of reality to the chat.
“You cannot just have open borders. There has to be some system that people agree on,” Noah says.
Ross isn’t so sure.
“We’re a nation of immigrants. In the show I challenged the politicians to remember where their ancestors came from,” Ross says. “I think we just all lost sight of the fact that… immigrants come to America and they do the jobs Americans don’t wanna do like host ‘The Daily Show.’
Cue the rim shot.
Then Ross takes his clown nose off. Or does he?
“We do need to look at border security. We need to find a more dignified way for people to come to America” Ross says.
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Noah then caps the chat by slamming President Trump. Call it a reflex.
“Can I tell you what’s crazy,” he told Ross. “We’re sitting here on a comedy show where a comedian is talking sensible immigration and foreign policy and the president is roasting people on Twitter.”
Actually, neither Ross nor Noah spoke about immigration with any depth. Did they mention the costs incurred with illegal immigration?
Did they consider the potential benefits of an open border policy? Was there any mention about the potential culture clash resulting from unfettered immigration, or how modern vetting procedures aren’t always enough to screen out potential terrorists?
No.
They each spoke in “feel good” platitudes, and for that Noah thinks we all should be grateful.
For more context on Ross’ take on the subject consider his press quotes about the new special.
“When I was growing up America welcomed immigrants. Now suddenly we’re a snobby club with a douchey doorman,” said Ross. “I started wondering how the people who actually live along the border feel about America’s changing immigration policies, so I went to Brownsville and learned a lot.”
The special will air at 10 p.m. EST November 16 on Comedy Central