Democratic congressional candidate, Justin Pearson, wouldn’t support deporting a single illegal alien when pressed by Scott Jennings during a Friday segment on CNN.
Pearson, the current Democrat representing Tennessee’s 86th District in the State House of Representatives, spoke on a CNN panel about the need to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (RELATED:Scott Jennings Sends CNN Panel Into Tizzy After Suggesting Dems Think Minorities Are ‘Too Dumb’ To Get Voter ID)
“We have to abolish ICE. We have to abolish the Customs and Border Patrol in the way that they currently exist and replace them with something that actually does the work that we need for them to do, which is why we need a Congress that works,” Pearson stated.
Watching Scott Jennings destroying a DEI Democratic state Representative from Tennessee on CNN is a million times better than watching the Super Bowl! 👏 pic.twitter.com/9aROlFb0z1
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) February 21, 2026
“What work is that by the way?” Jennings asserted while cutting Pearson off.
Pearson then said that the agency’s work is not killing American citizens, but Jennings pushed back, again asking him what ICE and Border Patrol actually do.
Pearson went on to discuss the work he believes the agencies should not be doing, while Jennings repeatedly asked if the U.S. needs an agency dedicated to deporting illegal aliens.
“Do we need a federal law enforcement agency to deport illegal aliens, yes or no?” Jennings asked Pearson.
“We do need a federal law enforcement agency that deals with immigration that doesn’t kill people. What we do also need is laws that make sure that people who are undocumented,” Pearson said before Jennings cut him off once again, asking, “Is there a single illegal alien that you would deport?”
“This is what I want you to focus on. There are a lot of people in this country, in our communities that have done so much to make them better, and we need to be prioritizing opportunities,” Pearson rebutted.
Jennings cut him off once more, asking,”Is this the Democratic position of ’26?” (RELATED: Scott Jennings Shreds Democrats’ Shutdown Blame Game)
“The Democratic position in ’26 is that we don’t terrorize American citizens, we don’t terrorize undocumented people, and we don’t kill people like Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” Pearson shot back.
Jennings appeared surprised by Pearson’s responses and asked whether he would advise Democrats running in 2026 not to answer questions regarding deporting illegal immigrants and enforcing immigration laws.
Pearson said the issue of immigration could not be narrowed down to a yes or no answer and that President Donald Trump’s administration had directly led to the deaths of Americans and hasn’t produced results surrounding the issue of illegal immigrants in the country.
“No deportations. That’s the Democratic position,” Jennings responded.
Pearson, who is 30 years old, is currently running against Democratic Tennessee Rep. Steven Cohen to represent the state’s 9th Congressional district.
