A CNN political panel moderated by anchor Abby Phillip became heated during a discussion involving former Trump White House staffer Caroline Sunshine, who defended Trump administration immigration and refugee policies.

The exchange escalated when Sunshine responded to criticism regarding the administration’s decision to grant refugee status to some South Africans while rejecting asylum seekers from other African countries.

Sunshine argued that the United States has historically maintained a broad and generous refugee policy toward multiple African nations and questioned why similar scrutiny was being applied to South Africa.

Her remarks were sharply criticized by other panelists, including political commentator Leah McGowan and strategist Josh Doss, who accused her of being deliberately evasive and misleading in her framing of the issue.McGowan interrupted the discussion, calling Sunshine’s argument “embarrassing,” while Doss echoed that her reasoning was intentionally obtuse.

The situation intensified when Sunshine attempted to reference South Africa’s Expropriation Act, suggesting it was a central factor in the administration’s refugee decisions.

Host Abby Phillip intervened to fact-check the claim, stating that no property had been expropriated under the law in question and that the characterization being presented was inaccurate or hypothetical.Sunshine pushed back, rejecting the correction.

The discussion then shifted to broader immigration policy, including the Trump administration’s approach to Haitians under Temporary Protected Status.Phillip criticized proposals to return large numbers of Haitian asylum seekers despite ongoing instability in Haiti, contrasting it with official U.S.travel warnings about safety risks in the country.

The segment highlighted deep disagreements among panelists over immigration enforcement, refugee policy, and the factual basis of political claims being made during the debate.