We see David J. Bier pop up a lot in our X feed. He's the Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, so he has a lot of illegal aliens to defend. He's become a running joke among conservative X for always looking on the sunny side of illegal immigration. Observe:
Hey @David_J_Bier, how does the Cato Institute “Immigrants Are Better Than You” model factor in the lost wages of a working American mother of two stabbed to death by an illegal El Salvadorian? https://t.co/Zf7bbDA9hb
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) May 3, 2026
Bier, who calls Rando a "nativist," has argued before Congress that illegal immigrants reduce crime rates. "You're MUCH safer in NYC w/ more murders than St. Louis with fewer," Bier argued. Bier also shifted the blame for the 2026 murder of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman to Trump, "because Trump's DHS has completely ignored the Laken Riley Act in favor of racial profiling random people on the street." As Bill Melugin was happy to point out, the Laken Riley Act was passed in 2025, but her killer's previous arrest happened in 2023, when the Biden administration policy was that a shoplifting charge wouldn’t be an enforcement priority for ICE.
Now, Bier is testifying again, and he says that one in five residents of Virginia's Fairfax County is or lives with someone who could be deported. And that would be a bad thing, according to Cato.
Cato guy: "One in five Fairfax residents is someone who could be deported or lives with them."
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 14, 2026
Totally normal that 20% of the largest county in Virginia could be deported. pic.twitter.com/ZVCjJveV8P
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Bier fired back, saying that yes, the one in five figure is totally normal.
Well, hopefully we don't deport their families, but you never know with the lunatics in charge today. One in five residents being in a household with an illegal immigrant is actually common in many places, and it's a reason mass deportation is insane. https://t.co/6UjbClYUuI
— David J. Bier (@David_J_Bier) May 14, 2026
The promise of mass deportation is what Americans voted for in 2024.
Okay, David, let's compromise: We deport every illegal alien in America except for as many as we can fit inside of Cato's offices. That way, we can all be happier and you can have all the third world military aged men that you want around you at all times. How's that sound?
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 14, 2026
There are ~45k+ active H-1B there.
— american-know-nothing (@a_know_nothing) May 14, 2026
That doesn’t count the H-4 EAD or F-1 holders.
Many have overstayed their visas or are working without authorization.
It’s basically been colonized by India. pic.twitter.com/fgsBiqgHSz
As our own Just Mindy reported, during the Biden administration, H-1B visa holders were buying houses with 97 percent financing, with the rest coming from state first-time home buyer programs.
Want affordable housing? Mass deportation, please. @CatoInstitute
— Lisa Miller (@LisaMaret) May 14, 2026
This is why Fairfax votes against all policies that make America America. Mass immigration is a great danger to the American experiment. A few immigrants who come and assimilate is fine but mass immigration is about diluting the vote of Americans with foreign born actors.
— Mark W. Smith/#2A Scholar (@fourboxesdiner) May 14, 2026
The illegal invaders have ruined Fairfax County. I live there. Some have been deported by ICE but that needs to be ramped up big time.
— 3rd Degree Byrne (@3rddegreebyrn) May 14, 2026
Ok. The "one in five" gotta go!!! I don't care. pic.twitter.com/Cv4TQRWFiv
— Shawn (@ShawnLivingLife) May 14, 2026
He wants us to feel bad for the families disrupted by the threat of deportation. My sympathy lies with kids who have had their educations derailed, sick Americans who can’t get into the doctor, and accident victims who have been hit by uninsured motorists.
— Foxfur1776 (@foxfur1776) May 14, 2026
If they can be deported, then they should be deported.
— Shashi (@shashigalore) May 14, 2026
"Mass deportation is insane because there are so many illegal immigrants" is a take.
You're telling me we need to send a heavy presence of ICE there.
— Jamison (@Jamison247) May 14, 2026
Cato holds a lot of responsibly for the damage inflicted on our country via these idiotic policies
— Erich Hartmann (@erichhartmann) May 14, 2026
And we are supposed to ignore their illegal status simply because that particular illegality is so widespread? All the more reason to expedite their deportation; before they represent 50% of the Fairfax population.
— kenneth proctor (@kenneth06555801) May 14, 2026
I'm sure @Oilfield_Rando would like a word.
— Bama Chan (@HeardChanda) May 14, 2026
He's a nativist.
Could you imagine the economic pressure that would take off the state government and the school system and the medical system and the housing prices?
— ArmageddonUSA (@CharlieClever) May 14, 2026
I voted for this sh!t. Don't tease me with a good time.
— max random logic (@maxrandomlogic) May 14, 2026
We don't know how Bier does what he does with a clean conscience. More illegal immigration makes everything better!
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