Gov. Whitmer agrees with 'The View' host saying deportations target 'Brown' people

"I also want to make the point that an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal because he or she is undocumented. That is a civil offense. So to call people illegals is in it and of itself, I think, xenophobic and racist," Hostin said. "And so what we are doing again is we have decided as a country to demonize a certain type of immigrant, a certain looking type of immigrant, and those immigrants are either from Central America or Mexico, they are Brown. There are a lot of undocumented immigrants here, about 40% of them who come from other countries that aren't Brown, but we are not rounding them up."

Co-host Joy Behar questioned why the Trump administration wasn't rounding up Canadians after Whitmer said that Michigan had the biggest border crossing in the country, with Canada. 

Whitmer acknowledged Hostin's point during their conversation and said, "how the skin tone of people who are being rounded up is different, how you're treated."

"This is not breaking news, but it is worth pointing out," she said.

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin pushed back on the point in her question to Whitmer.

"Donald Trump made gains with working-class Americans, which were traditionally a Democratic stronghold. One of the issues that did, in fact, move a lot of voters is the issue of immigration, not because working-class voters don't want Brown people here, but because they know companies are going to exploit cheap labor, hire those people and that could take jobs away from Americans. They had concerns around trade and offshoring American jobs, issues that, whether you like Donald Trump or not, he talked about in a way that resonated with them," Griffin said, asking why Democrats lost ground with working-class voters.

Griffin also argued that immigrants crossing the southern border matter during the first segment, pushing back on Hostin. 

"On Visa overstays, when you come here on a Visa, the U.S. government knows where you came from, what your name is, your place of origin. Yes, there are some who shouldn't be in the country anymore that doesn't have the same national security risk of people we have no idea of their home origin, where they came from, why they're here or where they're staying," Griffin said. 

"That's why undocumented migrants from the border do matter," she said.