[hecticskeptic]

Got me until I hit the line “No one is illegal,” said a tearful Jimmy Kimmel.... That is past tense and I had heard when driving half an hour earlier that whatever this event is called starts at 9 eastern.

[alexander_busek]

Got me until I hit the line “No one is illegal,” said a tearful Jimmy Kimmel.... That is past tense [...]

Actually, that is the Present Simple Tense.

We commonly use the present simple to refer to the past when we want to make events sound as if they are happening now. For example, news headlines are commonly written in the present simple.

Class dismissed!

Regards,