On Fox News's
The O'Reilly Factor late this week, contributor Sarah Palin
appeared to support immigration reform:
O'Reilly asked what she would do with the 12 million people already here illegally. “Are you gonna deport them? What are you gonna do?”
Palin, who undoubtedly remembered how bad he had made her look the last time she appeared with O'Reilly rolled her eyes and tried to change the subject: “First let me go back to the importance of securing the border.”
O'Reilly interrupted. "No, but we got that. We got that, Governor! Everybody – all Factor people… "
Palin pursed her lips, clasped her hands, shook her head and said, “Mmm, No, we don’t.”
O’Reilly interrupted her. “Yeah, the people watching this program have it. We have it. We assume that you, as president, would secure the border. I have confidence that you would do that.” He pressed her to answer what she would do with the 12 million people.
“You’re not gonna give them a free pass,” Palin said. She continued by saying that she wouldn’t allow people to get in across the porous border.
O’Reilly interrupted again. “So no amnesty. But what do you do with these folks? Do you make them register with the federal government? Do you tell ‘em they have 60 days to get out of here before we put you in jail? What do you do with them?”
Now Palin had an answer. “Do we make them register with the federal government? Yes, we do.”
“And if they don’t register with the federal (government)? Say you give them 60 days to register with the federal government… Say they didn’t do it.”
"You deport ‘em," Palin said.
So O’Reilly asked what she would do with those who do register. “Then what? Do you give them green cards to work right away? What do you do with them?”
Palin obviously had no idea. “You know, there has to be that expectation that they will work and that they will contribute.” Then, she changed the subject by saying, “Bill, it makes me uncomfortable that we’re even going down that path...”
As a result, on the next day's Factor
a panel consisting of O'Reilly, liberal talk radio host Leslie Marshall, and conservative pundit Dana Perino all criticized Palin.