During a live broadcast on Sunday, MSNBC anchor Alex Witt corrected correspondent Priya Sridhar for using the term "illegal aliens" while reporting on border enforcement activities. Sridhar was discussing a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operation in Colorado where approximately 50 individuals were apprehended. She described the incident as the arrest of "50 illegal aliens." Witt quickly interjected, clarifying that the preferred term is "undocumented immigrants." Sridhar's report also covered the deployment of active-duty troops to El Paso, Texas, to support border control measures.
This incident echoes a previous on-air correction on MSNBC where host Symone Sanders-Townsend corrected co-host Michael Steele for using the same term. These corrections highlight the network's sensitivity around language used when discussing immigration. The original report also mentioned a significant increase in border apprehensions under the Trump administration, including individuals with prior criminal records, and a subsequent drop in encounters immediately following Trump's inauguration compared to the final days of the Biden administration. The report cited a national emergency declaration by President Trump regarding border security and the launch of a large-scale deportation effort.
