Bill O’Reilly Gets Heated With Chris Cuomo Over ‘Hunting’ Illegal Immigrants

Chris Cuomo got into a heated debate about immigrants with Bill O’Reilly on his NewsNation show. O’Reilly appeared on the Tuesday, July 21, 2026, episode of Cuomo to discuss the U.S. government’s crackdown on mass deportations for illegal immigrants. During the conversation, O’Reilly and Cuomo disagreed on the estimated number of illegal immigrants in the country, as well as the severe methods the government is using to track down and arrest them.

“You are not bullish on hunting down criminal aliens,” O’Reilly said to Cuomo, who retorted, “That’s not true. I don’t like the idea of hunting down misdemeanors. You want to hunt down a killer? Go hunt them down. But that’s not who they’re getting, Bill. Their own numbers, which are obviously cooked, show that it’s barely 50/50.”

O’Reilly went on to state that the Department of Homeland Security claims that “more than 1 million criminals” are currently in the country illegally, adding, “You do not want to hunt them down. Neither does the Democratic Party. You don’t want to do it! Admit it! You don’t want to do it!”

Cuomo further denied O’Reilly’s comments. “Bill, it’s not true. You can keep insisting, Bill. You can say it a few more times, like your friend Mr. [Donald] Trump,” he said. “Doesn’t make it true. Repetition is not veracity.”

Cuomo backed his argument by quoting O’Reilly, stating, “I’ll say the same thing you said, which I — remember what you said, Bill O’Reilly? Because I can pull it for you in about eight seconds — [You said,] ‘It’ll never happen, logistically, legally, financially, you’ll never be able to get them all out.’ Remember saying that, Bill? Because you did.”

He continued, “So when I say it’s impractical, and that talking about hunting them is not the best messaging when you keep killing people, you don’t like that. But when you said it’ll never happen, that’s a fact. Come on, Bill.”

O’Reilly reacted to Cuomo’s comments by stating the host “admitted that my whole thesis is true. You don’t want them hunted.” Once again clarifying his stance on the subject, Cuomo said, “That’s not true. I don’t like the messaging. You shouldn’t hunt human beings, okay?”

Fans shared their mixed reactions to the intense on-air discussions via YouTube, with one commenter joking, “This is like explaining 2 my grandpa how the Roku works.” Another said, “Bill O’Reilly loves to present reality according to Bill O’Reilly. It’s really great seeing you holding him accountable here! Very, very entertaining!”

Someone else shared, “I wish, instead of debating all this, we would improve the process for sorting which immigrants and asylum seekers we want to admit into this country so it gets people answers faster, and is more understandable. That would solve a lot of these problems.” A different person posted, “They’re both talking in circles.” A separate commenter stated, “Come here legally and there is no problem. Stop making excuses for criminal behavior.”

Cuomo, Weeknights, 8/7 c, NewsNation