Ana Navarro clashed with a newer Republican voice on CNN after naming several people killed in ICE-related shootings, only to be challenged on whether she could also identify Americans killed by migrants.
The exchange unfolded during Thursday’s edition of NewsNight, where the panel was discussing the case of a 52-year-old Mexican national who was wrongfully shot and killed by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Tuesday.
Navarro, 54, said the incident was understandably prompting “outrage for most Americans” and argued that it fit into what she described as an alarming pattern.
“It’s the latest case that’s happened, but there’s been now at least five people killed by ICE in the streets of America,” The View co-host told the panel.
She then recited the names of five people: Ruben Ray Martinez, 23; Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, 38; Keith Porter Jr., 43; Renée Good, 37; and Alex Pretti, also 37.
Navarro continued by saying, “They killed them in Minnesota, and now Lorenzo Salgado Araujo,” referring to the Mexican national whose death had sparked the discussion.
Caroline Sunshine, a former Disney Channel actress and Trump aide who made her first appearance on the program last month, quickly pushed back and challenged Navarro’s framing.
“Do you know the names as well of Americans who have been killed by illegal immigrants? Do you have that list?” Sunshine, 30, asked, prompting a tense on-air back-and-forth that soon spread widely online.
Ana Navarro became enraged by rookie CNN NewsNight panelist Caroline Sunshine on Thursday’s edition of CNN NewsNight
The panel had been discussing the 52-year-old Mexican national wrongfully shot and killed by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Tuesday
‘I know some of the names. I don’t have the list, but I do know some of the names,’ Navarro said.
Sunshine pressed: ‘What are their names? What are some of their names?’
The line of questioning left Navarro visibly annoyed.
‘Listen, we have heard all of the names,’ the senior CNN political commentator said with a sigh, without sharing any of the names in question.
Sunshine again asked for ‘some of the names,’ leading Navarro to sit up in her seat.
‘This is not me doing a contest of whether you know the names, or whether I know the names,’ said Navarro.
Sunshine shot back there was no ‘contest.’
Navarro stressed that she merely ‘want[ed] to pronounce these names’ to attach names to faces – to which Sunshine said she agreed.
She then added that the public should also know the ‘faces of Americans who have been killed by illegal immigrants as well’, after which the two began to speak over each other.
Navarro named five Americans killed in recent ICE sweeps. Sunshine attempted to turn the tables by asking her to name some Americans killed by illegal immigrants
‘Okay, but the people they killed don’t have criminal records,’ Navarro said, becoming increasingly frustrated.
‘What are their names?’ Sunshine asked again, before listing some herself.
‘And what are the names of people that have been killed by US citizens?’ Navarro suddenly snapped, in an attempt to turn the tables.
Sunshine asked how such a question was ‘relevant’.
‘Well, you want to start talking about people who have been killed? Then let’s start talking about people who have been killed in this country,’ Navarro replied.
‘But there’s a hell of a lot more people that have been killed by US citizens than people who have been killed by illegal aliens.
‘And that’s not what we are talking about right now.’
Host Abby Phillip ended the exchange by clarifying that the number of Americans killed in recent immigration sweeps was eight.
Navarro argued the government agency has grown ‘out of control, killing even American citizens’
Navarro argued the government agency has grown ‘out of control, killing even American citizens.’
Sunshine starred in the Disney Channel series Shake It Up in the 2010s. She joined Trump’s White House in 2018, after starring in the TV movie Mommy, I Didn’t Do It in 2017. She worked there for nine months.
She made headlines in June for a viral clash with former Bill Clinton aide Keith Boykin about the administration’s current immigration policies.
Sunshine also clashed with ABC News contributor Tara Setmayer during a debate last week about Trump’s unsuccessful bid to end birthright citizenship as well.
