Former Democratic strategist and Fox News analyst Mustafa Tameez appeared on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" on Saturday with TheBlaze's Lawrence Jones to discuss the idea that hiding illegal immigrants in private homes is akin to the Underground Railroad of the 1800s.
Fox host Clayton Morris asked Tameez if hiding those illegal immigrants was truly the same as harboring slaves who were seeking freedom.
Tameez responded that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants and that when families are going to be separated from their children, Americans will step up to take care of them.
"That's what we've always done," Tameez said. "These are people that are hard-working folks that are among us, and we've got to find a way to bring Americans together, and to have a comprehensive immigration reform. We're not going to send 11 million people back."
Jones, who is black, shook his head in disbelief during Tameez's answers. When Jones' turn to speak came up, he wasn't having it and made it clear that comparing the experiences of illegal immigrants to the plight of African slaves was unfair.
"Let's be clear," Jones began. "The African slaves that came to America, they didn't come here willingly. They were stripped away from their families. They were not immigrants.
"It took a constitutional amendment for them to even get the rights of Americans," Jones continued. "So this is not the Underground Railroad. These are people that broke the law, that came here willingly, and now there's consequences for their actions."
"So although we want to show compassion, I think it's incredibly offensive and insulting to suggest this is like the Underground Railroad," Jones said.
