Toxic empathy is a tactic the left-wing media specializes in, especially when it comes to illegal immigration. MSNBC’s Morning Joe featured a segment on Thursday of NBC News correspondent and News Now anchor Morgan Radford going into Florida communities to speak with Venezuelan-American Trump supporters about their opinion on Immigration and Customs Enforcement mass arrests and deportations. However, the information used proved why the Trump administration is in favor of law and order.
Radford went to speak with Elana Conde, whose husband was arrested by ICE. In a turn of events to make it look like a heinous act by law enforcement, her husband had a history of illegal border crossings:
Her husband crossed the border with Mexico twice. Once in 2019, when he was detained and deported, and then again in 2022. Six weeks ago, he was taken into custody at his residency hearing.
In simple terms, Elana’s husband came across during President Trump’s first term and got deported, but then came across during former President Biden’s term, and there were no consequences. Now with Trump back in office, law and order is back to being enforced by deporting people who have crossed the border illegally.
When liberals display toxic empathy, they dismiss discernment and focus on the emotional aspect rather than logic. What is painful to see is that Radford doesn’t seem to register what she reported:
Now, what’s interesting is that, to a person, every single one we spoke to, said that they believed that Trump was only going to deport criminals. But the families who were stuck in Limbo said that the line for what is considered criminal essentially keeps moving. They ask how can one president, President Trump, make something that another president, President Biden, ordained, suddenly illegal?
They are right, Trump was and is deporting criminals. What they are wrong about is that if you are an illegal immigrant, you have committed a crime.
To compare Biden’s illegal immigration enforcement to Trump’s is a mistake. It is simple: it is illegal to cross the border without permission or remain in the country without becoming a U.S. citizen. Radford admits that “The number of deportations isn’t the issue, it’s the way they’re being handled.” Toxic empathy has been exposed right there.
Trump is on a mission to reverse Biden’s illegal immigration problems. In May of 2024, more than 62,000 illegal immigrants were released into the U.S. One year later, zero illegal immigrants came into America in May 2025.
Back in studio, Radford went on to compare Trump to former President Obama and how he operated on illegal immigration:
They said, ‘Look, we called President Obama ‘Deporter-in-Chief'.’ So we say record immigration numbers and record detention numbers. But, they said the difference is the way it was handled under Obama. They said everyone go due process. They got due process in their day in court in a broken system, but they got their day in court. So it’s the way it’s happening now where the Trump administration is essentially, instead of turning people away at the border, which what happened during Obama, they’re going into communities and extracting people. And that is what is chilling.
Do you know what’s “chilling”, Morgan? Having people like Laken Riley being horrendously murdered by people who are illegal immigrants. Would you care about how arrests and deportations are being “handled” if you knew that terrorists and criminals live in our country without authorization?
Let this be an example of the left-wing media caring more about illegal immigrants' feelings than wanting to uphold law and order to keep Americans safe.
Click here for the transcripts.
MSNBC Morning Joe
6/26/2025
7:24 AM ET
REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (FL-27)- We agree with what President Trump is doing or what the administration is doing in deporting illegals. (Transition) But we do know that, unfortunately, what’s happening right now after six months of being Mr. President, being in office, that we’re losing thousands and thousands of workers.
[BACK TO LIVE]
JONATHAN LEMIRE: That was Republican Congresswoman Maria Salazar of Florida in a House Committee on Tuesday. The co-founder of Latinas for Trump also represents a Miami district with a significant number of Cuban and Venezuelan Americans, many of whom are now speaking out about those deportations that she was referencing. Joining us now for more NBC News correspondent and News Now anchor Morgan Radford. Good morning, Morgan. Great to see you. You spoke to many in those communities in Florida. What's the mood on the ground there?
MORGAN RADFORD: Fear, uncertainty. But also it’s interesting, Jonathan, because the timing is so important here. We’re seeing the largest wave of Cuban emigration in modern Cuban history. So think about half a million Cubans that have arrived since 2022. Similar situation for Venezuelans. And so now the same base that helped elect President Trump and put him in office is speaking out.
[CLIPS TO VIDEO]
WOMAN [SPEAKING SPANISH]: Injustice!
RADFORD: A wave of disappointment.
WOMAN 2 [SPEAKING SPANISH]: My son can’t see his dad? One of President Donald Trump's most loyal voting blocs, Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants. Now speaking out in Miami, a Republican stronghold, as the recent wave of deportations hits home. And the Trump administration moved to end temporary legal status, or TPS, for more than 500,000 people who arrived during the Biden administration.
ELANA CONDE: [Speaks Spanish]
RADFORD: Elena Conde says she came here from Cuba by plane on humanitarian parole in 2023. Her husband crossed the border with Mexico twice. Once in 2019, when he was detained and deported, and then again in 2022. Six weeks ago, he was taken into custody at his residency hearing.
CONDE: [Speaking in Spanish.]RADFORD: So he was given an appointment to go to ICE. You told him before he left for that appointment, you don’t have anything to worry about.
CONDE: [Speaking in Spanish]
RADFORD: (Translating to English) You haven’t done anything.
Instead, he was transferred to Texas, where we spoke to him from his detention center.
CONDE’S HUSBAND: [Speaking in Spanish]
RADFORD: [Speaking in Spanish]
How do you feel about everything that’s happening right now in this country with the deportations?
HUSBAND: [Speaking in Spanish]
RADFORD: You don’t understand how this could happen.
[Speaking in Spanish]
What do you think was going to happen when Trump won?
HUSBAND: [Speaking in Spanish.]
RADFORD: You’re saying you believed the President when he said he was going to deport criminals.
Now, Elana is left behind with her daughter, seven-month old son, and Elana’s 70-year-old grandmother, who had been a U.S. citizen for years. Together facing a reality they never imagined.
CONDE: [Speaking in Spanish]
RADFORD: Your whole family voted for Trump.
[Speaking in Spanish]
Did you support him?
CONDE: [Speaking in Spanish]
RADFORD: You’re outside of it. You can’t vote.
[Speaking in Spanish]
Do you feel disappointed? Deceived?
[Speaking in Spanish]
CONDE: [Speaking in Spanish]
RADFORD: You feel bad because the rest of them believed in him.
7:29 a.m.
[BACK TO LIVE]
RADFORD: Now, what’s interesting is that to a person, every single one we spoke to, said that they believed that Trump was only going to deport criminals. But the families who were stuck in Limbo said that the line for what is considered criminal essentially keeps moving. They ask how can one president, President Trump, make something that another president, President Biden, ordained, suddenly illegal? How can the legality of their stay be revoked and then leave those particular families stuck in the gap?
LEMIRE: So Morgan, it’s a really important reporting. Is there evidence that we’re actually seeing more Cubans and Venezuelans being deported? What do the numbers tell us?
RADFORD: Yes, interesting. The data that the federal government has released isn’t actually broken down by country so you can’t see which country they are specifically headed to. But what’s interesting is that it almost doesn’t matter, because they were saying the number of deportations isn’t the issue, it’s the way they’re being handled. They said, “Look, we called President Obama ‘Deporter-in-Chief’.” So we say record immigration numbers and record detention numbers. But, they said the difference is the way it was handled under Obama. They said everyone go due process. They got due process in their day in court in a broken immigration system, but they got their day in court. So it’s the way it’s happening now where the Trump administration is essentially, instead of turning people away at the border, which is what happened during Obama, they’re going into communities and extracting people. And that is what is chilling.
LEMIRE: People have had such a visceral reaction to that really good work. NBC News correspondent and News Now daily anchor Morgan Radford. Morgan, thank you again.