Former MS NOW host Tiffany Cross accused Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings of using a “slur” on CNN Tuesday after he asked whether she was an “illegal alien.”
United States District Judge Paula Xinis of the District of Maryland, an Obama appointee, ordered the Trump administration to release adjudicated MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Dec. 11. Cross claimed that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement could detain “any of us.”
“Abby [Phillip]. If we make this about Abrego Garcia, then it seems like, oh, that’s something that happens over there to this person that doesn’t involve me. The key point here is ICE illegally held Abrego Garcia without a removal order, the basic legal document needed. And so when you look at that, it could happen to any of us. Moreover, ICE just recently signed a contract — yes, it can happen to any of us,” Cross claimed, prompting Jennings to ask, “Are you an illegal alien?”
“I just recently — I don’t know what — I don’t — People aren’t illegal. So, undocumented –” Cross sputtered, with Jennings pointing out, “You’re not, you’re a citizen of the United States, he’s not.”
After further-back-and-forth, Cross then claimed Jennings used a slur.
“Well, if you don’t have the opportunity — if you don’t have the opportunity to fight, to have due process, then how can anybody say that?” Cross asked, with Jennings asking, “Is he an illegal alien or not?”
“I don’t call people illegal aliens. I think that’s a slur,” Cross claimed.
Tiffany Cross: “ICE illegally held Abrego Garcia without a removal order, the basic legal document needed. And so when you look at that, it could happen to any of us.”
Scott Jennings: “Are you an illegal alien? You’re not.”
Tiffany Cross: “People aren’t illegal. So,… pic.twitter.com/M6wLpMCNzV
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 31, 2025
The term “alien” is a legal term defined in 8 USC 1101 as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.” The term “illegal aliens” is used in multiple parts of the United States Code, including 8 USC 1182, 8 USC 1252c, and 8 USC 1366.
Garcia was indicted on human trafficking charges in Tennessee and had initially been deported to El Salvador and was held in a high-security prison, leading Democrats to demand his return to the United States. The Trump administration released a dossier detailing the evidence against Abrego Garcia in April, which included findings from immigration judges that he was a member of MS-13, an El Salvadoran prison gang President Donald Trump designated a foreign terrorist organization on Jan. 20.
Cross, whose MS NOW show featured racially charged attacks on conservatives, particularly black conservatives, was called out by Tucker Carlson during an October 2022 episode of his Fox News show. Carlson compared her MS NOW show to “Hutu radio,” referencing inflammatory broadcasts that preceded the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
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