A Senate Budget Committee hearing on sanctuary cities turned tense Tuesday after a Democratic witness said immigrants, including those in the country illegally, are a fiscal benefit to the United States. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., shot back: “What planet did you parachute in from? You trigger my gag reflex.”
The clash came as lawmakers debated immigration enforcement and sanctuary policies during a hearing titled “Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order.”
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What Bier said
David Bier, an immigration policy expert at the Cato Institute and a Democrat-called witness, argued earlier in the hearing that both legal and illegal aliens “are a benefit to this country” because they help reduce the national deficit.
Questioned by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Bier said there are “clear reasons for believing that they are reducing the deficits and debt, they are a benefit to this country, and we need more people who are going to contribute in the future as our population ages.”
Bier said “it’s easy to understand why” immigrants reduce the deficit “because they work at 12 percentage points higher than the national average, they use less benefits because they’re subject to constraints, unique barriers to applying for those benefits, in particular Social Security and Medicare.” He added that those programs are “by far our largest programs,” and said immigrants are “not eligible for those at all if they’re here in the country illegally or if they came legally and they don’t have a sufficient work history to qualify.”
He also cited the Social Security Administration, saying: “According to the Social Security Administration, we need about 35 million more workers in order to keep revenues equal to expenses by the middle of the 2030s.” He added: “So, we are at a position right now where immigration is not going to solve it. Obviously, it’s not going to solve it, but it is moving us in the right direction.”
Bier praised immigrants as workers, saying, “These are people who are showing up, they’re ready to work, they’re often prime age individuals who are ready to enter the labor force.” He added: “So, it’s a huge benefit fiscally to the United States to have these people who want to contribute to our country.”
“Population purge” and judges
The exchange escalated after Bier accused the Trump administration of attempting a “population purge.”
He claimed the administration was trying to deport U.S.-born citizens, saying: “They’re trying to deport U.S.-born citizens, people born here, they are trying to deport them as well. So, it’s not a mass deportation agenda, it is also an agenda intended to reduce the population of the United States, including U.S.-born people.”
Bier also said federal judges opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations “are much braver” than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. “They are much braver. They put their names on their rulings, and they stand behind their constitutional rulings,” Bier said.
Kennedy fires back
Kennedy responded sharply to Bier’s comments, telling him: “What planet did you parachute in from? You trigger my gag reflex.”
Moreno also criticizes Bier
Kennedy was not the only Republican to challenge Bier’s testimony. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, argued with Bier over whether it was a mistake for Congress to ban people from entering the country illegally.
Moreno criticized Bier’s responses, telling him: “You haven’t answered my question, but that’s okay. You’re a smug guy, and that’s part of your shtick,” and later calling him “a smug guy.”
After another Democrat-called witness declined to answer the same question, Moreno said: “This is the best that Democrats can come up with.” He expanded his critique, saying: “This is the best witnesses you’ve got? A guy who can’t distinguish whether it’s okay to have people enter our country illegally. Of all the millions of people that you could have chosen to testify … the best you have is a guy who has no idea what our immigration law is, and isn’t sure if somebody should enter the country illegally [and] another guy is a smug guy who obviously has an agenda.”
Padilla backs sanctuary policies
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., argued that sanctuary policies improve community outcomes, saying they lower crime, poverty and unemployment.
“Data shows that sanctuary policies actually make communities safer, healthier and more prosperous. That’s right, the evidence shows, the research shows sanctuary jurisdictions have lower crime rates, higher median household income, less poverty, less reliance on public assistance, higher labor force participation, and lower unemployment,” Padilla said.
“That’s right. It seems like sanctuary cities are helping to make America great, I said it,” he added.
Bier speaks after hearing
After the hearing, Bier told Fox News Digital that “this exchange had nothing to do with illegal immigration” and said “the question was about immigration generally.”
