Cuban-American journalist disputes new 'English-speaking immigrants only' rule

CNN's Jim Acosta confronts White House aide Stephen Miller

Jim Acosta, left, and Stephen Miller, right, had a heated exchange during a White House press conference Wednesday.

MIAMI – Jim Acosta's story is familiar in Miami, the city of immigrants. His dad was 11 years old when he left Cuba's Santa Maria del Rosario, a  small town outside of Havana, three weeks before the Cuban missile crisis.

Acosta, now a Cuban-American CNN correspondent, listened to White House aide Stephen Miller Wednesday in disbelief when he announced the U.S. will not be giving green cards to migrants who don't speak English. 

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Acosta knows first hand refugees don't have time to learn English when they are forced to uproot their lives. 

"You are sort of bringing a 'press 1 for English' philosophy here to immigration and that's never been what the United States has been about," Acosta said. 

The White House press conference Wednesday turned into a decisive confrontation between Acosta and Miller, after the announcement that the U.S. prefers "the best and the brightest" immigrants as candidates for green cars. Miller said it's a move that will help cut legal immigration in half. 

Miller is the former communications director under Jeff Sessions in Alabama. He is also the former Santa Monica High School student who classmates say criticized the poor English skills of Hispanic students. 

"Aren't you trying to change what it means to be an immigrant coming into this country if you are telling them you have to speak English," Acosta said. "Can't people learn how to speak English when they get here?"

Miller didn't answer the question. Instead, he insulted Acosta. He said his statements about Australians and Brits being the only ones who spoke English around the world revealed his "cosmopolitan bias." He also said Acosta was "ignorant" and "foolish."

During the heated exchange, Acosta cited Emma Lazarus' poem at the foot of the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' And he added, "It doesn't say anything about speaking English or being ... a computer programmer."

Miller argued the Statue of Liberty was not a symbol related to immigration. It was a symbol "of liberty lighting the world," Miller said. He also said the 1883 "The New Colossus" poem at the foot of the statue was added later.

"That sounds like some national park revisionism," Acosta said. "The Statue of Liberty has always been a beacon of hope to the world for people to send their people to this country and they are not always going to speak English. They are not always going to be highly skilled."

Here is their exchange:


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.