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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Nov. 15, 2019. (AP) Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Nov. 15, 2019. (AP)

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Nov. 15, 2019. (AP)

Louis Jacobson
By Louis Jacobson June 10, 2024

Eric Swalwell misquotes Lindsey Graham on Donald Trump’s deportation plans

If Your Time is short

  • Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., didn’t quote Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., accurately. Swalwell posted that Graham said Trump plans to deport legal immigrants, but Graham said Trump plans to deport immigrants in the U.S. "illegally," not "legally."

A single syllable can make a difference. Sometimes, a big difference.

In a June 9 X post, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., pounced on video footage of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an ally of former President Donald Trump.

The clip came from an interview Graham had done with CBS’ "Face the Nation" earlier that day. It was captured and posted by the X account @Acyn, which shares a steady stream of video clips to its nearly half-million followers. The account is run by Acyn Torabi, an editor with the liberal website MeidasTouch.com.

The @Acyn account wrote, "Graham: On day one President Trump will deport people here legally by the tens of thousands. Biden will never do that."

The tweet attracted 1,200 reposts and 2,000 likes by midday July 10. But the post’s traction increased after Swalwell reposted it late July 9.

Swalwell wrote, ""#BREAKING. Trump will round up and deport LEGAL immigrants. No one is safe. If you are not white you may be gone. Tell your family members to be ready."

By the afternoon of June 10, the post had received 4,900 reposts and 11,000 likes and was still live on the platform. A reader asked PolitiFact to check it.

There was one problem: Graham never said Trump would deport legal immigrants. He said Trump would deport illegal immigrants.

"On Day 1, President Trump will deport people here illegally by the tens of thousands," Graham said in the clip. "Then and only then will this stop, and Biden will never do that."

The original interview video shows that Graham’s Southern-inflected cadence did partially swallow the "il-" in "illegally" at the 26:55 time stamp, making it tricky to parse his phrasing. 

CBS’ official transcript of the show marked down the word as "illegally." A spokesperson for Graham, Taylor Reidy, confirmed to PolitiFact that Graham had said "illegally." 

We asked Swalwell’s office whether he had other evidence that Trump plans to deport immigrants who are in the country legally, but the office did not respond. 

Trump has proposed far-reaching deportations, and he hasn’t ruled out building detention camps for those deportations. But his standard position focuses on deporting people in the U.S. illegally. He has also said he wants to change the policy to block birthright citizenship for children of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally; under long-standing legal interpretations, such children have citizenship if they are born on U.S. soil.

Our ruling

Swalwell posted on X that Graham said Trump, if elected, "will round up and deport LEGAL immigrants."

Graham actually said Trump plans to deport immigrants in the U.S. "illegally," not "legally."

We rate his statement False.

Our Sources

Eric Swalwell, X post (archived), June 9, 2024

@Acyn, X post, June 9, 2024

CBS News, "Face the Nation" transcript, June 9, 2024

CBS News, "Face the Nation: Season 2024, Episode 23, June 9, 2024

CNN, "Trump explains his militaristic plan to deport 15-20 million people," May 1, 2024

Time, "Read the Full Transcripts of Donald Trump’s Interviews With TIME," April 30, 2024

Donald Trump, "Agenda47: Day One Executive Order Ending Citizenship for Children of Illegals and Outlawing Birth Tourism," May 30, 2023

Email interview with Taylor Reidy, spokesperson for Lindsey Graham, June 10, 2024a

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Eric Swalwell misquotes Lindsey Graham on Donald Trump’s deportation plans

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