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Ana Navarro, Viewers Slam Rick Santorum For Telling Worried DREAMer She Should Leave The US

by Gabe Ortiz on

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Television viewers and CNN commentator Ana Navarro came to the defense of a DREAMer during Van Jones’s CNN special “The Messy Truth” last night, following Rick Santorum’s callous suggestion to her that she should leave the country.

The exchange came when DREAMer Elizabeth shared her inspirational story about coming to the US at the age of seven. Because of DACA — which allows her to work legally and provides temporary relief from deportation — she was able to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, and has since become a mentor to young students.

But, following Donald Trump’s campaign promise to revoke the program at the very start of his Presidency, the worried DREAMer told Santorum, himself a prominent Trump backer and former Presidential candidate, that her future and years of hard work are now up in the air.

“I stand to lose all the work that I’ve done if the administration decides to end DACA,” she said. “My career will come to an end if that program ends and I will also potentially be labelled for deportation, which means I am going to be removed from the communities that I’ve contributed to so much.”

Elizabeth asked Santorum what she should to do prepare for the next administration. After briefly peddling his own family’s immigration story — and in the process jabbing her by saying that his family decided coming to the US “was worth doing the right way” — his suggestion to a young woman seeking guidance was cruel and swift: leave.

“You have the ability to go to any other country right now and apply those wares, and be successful, and reapply to come back to America,” Santorum said.

The response drew an audible, negative reaction from the audience, causing Santorum to look toward them and shrug. Panelist Navarro swiftly rebuked Santorum in the DREAMer’s defense, drawing an “amen” and applause from other audience members.

“First of all, this is your country,” Navarro told her. “No matter what he says, no matter what anybody else says, this is your country. I, as an American, thank you for the contributions you are making to our joint country. I want you here.”

Navarro’s suggestion to her was that she continue to let the public know about why DREAMers and the American fabric are intertwined. “You’ve got to tell your story and change and affect public opinion, because your stories are beautiful,” she said. “They’re the stories of the American dream.”

Viewers also chimed in to slam Santorum and defend Elizabeth, with one Twitter user saying the United States “should be so lucky to keep her.”