NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
David Bier, a witness called a Democrat in the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday, sharply criticized Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana after accusing the Trump administration of trying to “cleanse” the US.
Before the hearing, Bier, an immigration policy expert at the CATO Institute, said both legal and illegal aliens are “an asset to this country” because they help reduce the national deficit.
Kennedy snapped at Bier, asking, “What planet did you parachute into? It’s triggering my gag reflex.”
Bier had recently said that federal judges challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order are “much braver” than US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
FAMILY WANTS PROSECUTOR RELEASED AFTER SISTER’S MURDER IN VIOLENT COUNTRY.
“They are brave. They put their names to their decisions, and they follow their constitutional decisions,” Bier said.
He accused the administration of trying to do “people cleansing,” saying, “They’re trying to deport US-born citizens, people who were born here, they’re trying to deport them too. So, it’s not a mass deportation agenda, it’s an agenda aimed at reducing the population of the United States, including people born in the US.”
Earlier in the hearing, Bier had called for “more” immigration to help deal with the country’s growing deficit.
When he was questioned by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Bier said “there are clear reasons to believe that they reduce the deficit and the debt, they are good for this country, and we need more people to contribute in the future as the population grows.”
Bier said that “it is easy to understand why” immigrants reduce the deficit “because they work 12 percent more than the national average, they use less benefits because they are under the restrictions, unique obstacles to apply for those benefits, especially Social Security and Medicare. Those are our biggest programs, and they do not deserve those citizens who come illegally or come illegally if they come illegally to the country”. sufficient work history to qualify.”
After the hearing, Bier later told Fox News Digital that “this exchange had nothing to do with illegal immigration” and that “the question was about immigration.”
ANOTHER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WAS FORGOTTEN FOR ALLEGED VOTING IN EVERY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SINCE 2008.
ICE officers were involved in a week-long immigration enforcement operation in the Houston, Texas area, which resulted in the arrest of 646 illegal immigrants. (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
While testifying at a hearing titled “Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order,” where members criticized mass immigration under the Biden administration, Bier said mass immigration is a good move for the country.
“According to the Social Security Administration, we need about 35 million workers to keep income equal to spending in the mid-2030s,” he said. “So, we’re in a situation where immigration is not going to solve it. Obviously, they’re not going to solve it, but it’s moving us in the right direction.”
He praised the immigrants, saying, “These are people who demonstrate, who are ready to work, they are usually high-level people who are ready to enter the workforce.”
“So, it’s a great financial benefit for the United States to have these people who want to contribute to our country,” he added.
Bier was not alone in arguing at the hearing that illegal immigrants can improve communities. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., one of the most vocal critics of the Trump administration, took a similar line, saying sanctuary policies actually reduce crime, poverty and unemployment.
“The data shows that sanctuary policies actually make communities safer, healthier and more successful. That’s right, the evidence shows, studies show that sanctuaries have lower crime rates, higher household incomes, less poverty, less reliance on social assistance, higher labor force participation, and unemployment,” said Padilla.
“That’s right. It seems like sanctuary cities help make America great, I said,” he added.
FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRANGED AND A 13-YEAR-OLD WOULD BE CHARGED IN THE MURDER OF A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY, IN MARYLAND PARK.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Similarly, Kennedy was not the only Republican to oppose Bier. After debating whether it was a mistake for Congress to prevent people from entering the country illegally, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, criticized Bier as a “bad boy.”
“You haven’t answered my question, but that’s okay. You’re a bigoted guy, and that’s part of your shtick,” Moreno said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
After another so-called Democrat witness refused to answer the same question, Moreno criticized them both, saying, “This is the best the Democrats can come up with.”
“This is the best witness you have? A guy who can’t distinguish whether it’s okay for people to come into our country illegally. Of all the millions of people you could choose to testify … the best you have is a guy who doesn’t know what our immigration law is, and who’s not sure if someone should come into the country illegally. [and] the other guy is a bad guy and obviously has an agenda,” Moreno said.
