The grassroots movement to get Piers Morgan deported: Could it actually work?

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition to get the CNN commentator kicked out of the country for his outspoken views on gun control

Piers Morgan on stage at a BritWeek 2012 event in Beverly Hills in May.
(Image credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Can a foreign-born political commentator be deported for making political comments? That's the question — and the goal — of more than 60,000 Americans who have signed a petition to deport British journalist Piers Morgan for his outspoken views on gun control. On a recent episode of his CNN series Piers Morgan Tonight, Morgan called guest Larry Pratt, the executive director of Guns Owners for America, "dangerous" and "an unbelievably stupid man" for arguing that the U.S. needs more guns to fight gun violence. Pratt responded by calling Morgan "morally obtuse." (Watch a video of the heated exchange below.) The subsequent petition to get Morgan deported, which was started by "Kurt N" from Austin, Texas, argues that Morgan is "engaged in a hostile attack against the U.S. Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment" and "[demands] that Mr. Morgan be deported immediately."

The irony, of course, is that deporting Morgan for his "hostile attack" on the Constitution would be a violation of the constitutional right to free speech. Even as a British national, Morgan is "afforded various rights under national security law and due process," says immigration attorney Mark Schifanelli at ABC News. Morgan's comments are protected unless they present "immediate danger" to the United States, and his opinion on gun control isn't likely to meet that requirement.

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.