Laura Ingraham loses it during immigration debate: 'Why have a border at all!'

Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham on Sunday used the slippery slope argument to warn Republicans to back off immigration reform or there would be no purpose to "have a border at all."

Last week, the reliably conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page pointed out that House Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) decision not to go forward with immigration reform meant that Republicans were accepting a "de facto 'amnesty' in which 11 million illegal immigrants will continue to work using fake documents."

"Mr. Obama will look for ways to grant more of them legal status using executive power, and the GOP will look even more unwelcoming to minorities," the Journal noted.

Ingraham accused the paper of attacking talk show hosts like herself and siding with liberals like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), President Barack Obama, and The National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

But she said that talk radio was backing "the lion's share of the American people."

"Right now, we're not really enforcing our laws uniformly," Ingraham explained. "The president, as John Boehner just realized apparently, is not trustworthy. He has a deferred action for a million and a half [young] people who are here illegally, just basically changing law with the stroke of a pen."

Conservative columnist George Will reminded Ingraham that there were many reasons that Republicans should back immigration reform: the so-called "welfare state" needed immigrant workers as baby boomers retired, other countries were winning the global competition for "human capital," and the act of immigration was entrepreneurial in the conservative tradition.

"But why have borders?" Ingraham shot back. "So, the argument leads to, why have borders at all? Why have a border? If it's just about people as widgets, who come in and are workers without really a concern about assimilation, without concern about how it affects people in middle America."

"I would submit that there are people who are watching this show right now who are screaming at the top of their lungs, saying, 'Who in Washington is representing my interests?'" she added.

Will tried to tried to explain that Ingraham's argument about the border was not valid because 40 percent of the people who were in the country illegally had overstayed their visas -- but she cut him off.

"We don't want to crack down on that!" she exclaimed. "There's no will to enforce the border! There is no faith in this administration to do it. And the Republican elites and the Democrat elites agree and the people are revolting across this country."

At that point, Fox News contributor Juan Williams told Ingraham that Obama had deported undocumented immigrants at a higher rate than President George W. Bush.

"The reaction of the Hispanic community is, you know, you're deporting grandmothers and kids," Williams said. "This is terrible."

"The emotional argument!" Ingraham complained, throwing up her hands. "Facts don't matter. Constitution, rule of law. Let's just do legislation by emotion."

"I would rather have George argue with her," Williams quipped.

Watch this video from Fox News' Fox News Sunday, broadcast Feb. 9, 2014.

(h/t: Media Matters)