Podcaster Joe Rogan said Tuesday that illegal immigration is "more complicated" than many acknowledge, while criticizing what he described as militarized enforcement actions in American cities, including people being "snatched" off the streets.
Rogan made the remarks in a roughly 2½-hour interview with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on "The Joe Rogan Experience."
While Rogan said he supports the Trump administration's effort to deport illegal aliens — millions of whom entered the country under the Biden administration — he raised concerns about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out those operations.
Rogan said enforcement must strike a "balance."
"I can also see the point of view of people saying you don't want militarized people in the streets just roaming around, snatching up people — many of which actually turn out to be U.S. citizens that just don't have their papers on them," Rogan said.
"Are we really gonna be the Gestapo? 'Where's your papers?'
"Is that what we've come to?" he added.
Rogan said immigration enforcement is often oversimplified.
"It's more complicated than anyone wants to admit," he said. "People want to look at this as a black-and-white issue, and I don't think that's true."
Paul pushed back, saying Democrats created the crisis by refusing to enforce immigration laws.
"The left needs to hear they have created this situation by disobeying the immigration laws," Paul said. "By ignoring deportation orders, by not reporting people who are committing crimes.
"We're not talking about some guy mowing lawns — we're talking about someone who stole a car, who raped somebody."
Paul also cited particular cities and states, including Minnesota, arguing that they force ICE to conduct such enforcement operations.
The two also discussed the recent shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis during an ICE operation after she obstructed agents and ignored commands to exit her vehicle.
Rogan called the shooting a "terrible tragedy."
"I'm not that guy, I don't know what he thought, and again this is a guy who had almost been run over. But this just looked horrific to me," Rogan said.
"When people say it's justifiable because the car hit him, it seemed like she was kind of turning the car away.
"It seemed like she was out of her [expletive] mind to begin with. That lady seemed crazy," he added.
Rogan has been generally supportive of Trump but has maintained an independent streak. Trump appeared on Rogan's podcast for a nearly three-hour interview days before the 2024 election.
On the eve of Election Day, Rogan publicly endorsed Trump, citing Elon Musk's case for Trump and saying he agreed "every step of the way."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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