Don Lemon decided to take to the streets and lecture everyday Americans on immigration law — only to be privately schooled by the very people he apparently thinks he represents. During a man-on-the-street segment he insisted that crossing the border illegally “isn’t a criminal act” and even tried to downplay it as a mere misdemeanor, a line that collapsed under simple questions from his interview subjects. The clip has since become yet another humiliating footnote in the catalog of media elites talking down to ordinary citizens.
The exchange was painfully clear: Lemon’s attempt to recast illegal entry as something other than a crime was met with incredulity and pointed pushback from a woman and a man on the street who understood the difference between rules and the rule of law. He stumbled through distinctions about levels of offense while the people he interviewed pressed him on common-sense consequences and why charges matter if something isn’t a crime. That public rebuke ought to remind every journalist that real Americans aren’t impressed by performative lectures from CNN alumni.
Dave Rubin didn’t let the moment pass unnoticed; he put the clip into his Direct Message segment and ripped into Lemon’s smugness, using the exchange as proof that the coastal media class is out of touch with working people’s concerns about law, order, and sovereignty. Rubin’s take — shared on The Rubin Report podcast and YouTube channels — framed the incident as symptomatic of a broader contempt from the left for immigration enforcement and public safety. When a media figure can’t even get simple legal basics right on camera, it’s no surprise the public’s faith in those institutions is collapsing.
Let’s be blunt: this isn’t just semantic nitpicking. Conservatives believe in defending the rule of law, securing borders, and protecting the citizens who pay taxes and obey rules while watching a flood of people exploit loopholes. Media celebrities dismissing legal distinctions as “just rules” is part of the toxic arrogance that treats the public as an audience for lectures rather than citizens demanding accountability. This kind of condescension fuels the anger Americans feel when Washington and the press reward lawlessness with moral lectures instead of solutions.
The legal reality is straightforward and undercuts Lemon’s soft-pedaling: unlawful entry between ports of entry is criminalized under federal law and is typically prosecuted as a misdemeanor on first offense, with harsher penalties for reentry after removal. There’s a reason statutes and penalties exist — they’re a deterrent and a tool for enforcement that can’t be papered over by rhetorical gymnastics on a livestream. Reporting and commentary that ignores statutes in favor of feel-good narratives about open borders does a disservice to national security and the rule of law.
This episode should be a wake-up call for conservative voters: demand more than moralizing from media figures and demand real policy fixes from our leaders. We need border control, enforcement of existing law, and an immigration system that rewards assimilation and merit rather than rewarding those who flout the rules. When journalists like Lemon try to gaslight the public about what is and isn’t a crime, patriots must push back loudly and insist our laws matter.
Finally, hold the media to account. The next time a pundit tries to tell you that illegal entry is “not a crime” or that consequences are optional, remember this clip and the people who put him in his place. Everyday Americans know that laws that are not enforced are invitations to chaos, and until our leaders and reporters stop normalizing border neglect, conservatives will keep making the case for safety, sovereignty, and common sense enforcement.
