John Kennedy mocks Dem witness over Trump ‘population purge’ claim: ‘What planet are you from?’
WASHINGTON, DC: A Democrat-called witness, David Bier, accused the Trump administration of attempting a "population purge" during a Senate Budget Committee hearing. But he was slammed by GOP Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who asked him, “What planet did you parachute in from? You trigger my gag reflex.”
Bier made several arguments during the Tuesday, March 10, hearing. The immigration policy expert at the Cato Institute claimed that immigrants “are a benefit to this country” since they contribute toward reducing the national deficit.
David Bier accuses Trump of ‘population purge’
He also argued that the federal judges opposing Trump’s ICE crackdown “are much braver” than immigration agents. “They are much braver. They put their names on their rulings, and they stand behind their constitutional rulings,” Bier stated.
Regarding his “population purge” argument, he explained, “They're trying to deport US-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 US-born people.”
While answering Senator Chris Van Hollen’s question about how immigrants help the national deficit, Bier added that 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.”
Alex Padilla defends sanctuary policies as safer
Elaborating further, he noted, “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.”
“Those are by far our largest programs, and they're 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 said.
Bier also claimed during the hearing that having immigrants in the country is a positive sign, as they’re “ready to work, they're often prime age individuals who are ready to enter the labor force. So, it's a huge benefit fiscally to the United States to have these people who want to contribute to our country.”
Alex Padilla claims sanctuary policies make US 'safer'
Apart from Bier, Senator Alex Padilla, D-California, also sided with immigrants, arguing that sanctuary policies actually help improve conditions in the US.
“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 added.
