Cato Stooge Tells Congress It Created Illegal Immigration by Making Legal Immigration 'Impossible'

We write a lot about David J. Bier, the Cato Institute's Director of Immigration Studies, because he always seems to be testifying before Congress about all of the good that comes from illegal immigration. Back in May, he testified that "mass deportation is insane" because one out of every five residents of Fairfax County in Virginia either could be deported or lives with someone who could be deported. There are so many illegal aliens already here that it's insane to try to enforce immigration law.

Bier was back before Congress, testifying before a House Judiciary Subcommittee examining sanctuary policies, where he declared that Congress created illegal immigration by making legal immigration impossible. Great logic, there. You know, people could just stay in their own countries rather than sneak into the United States illegally.

“If you make legal immigration impossible, don’t complain about illegal immigration. You created it. You made it illegal.” – Cato’s @David_J_Bier in testimony before a House Judiciary Subcommittee. pic.twitter.com/a2rH1F78TS
— Cato Institute (@CatoInstitute) September 2, 2026

David J Bier bringing to Congress the intellectual rigor and good faith he blesses us here on X with daily. https://t.co/XlWMoHyCT6
— Jarvis (@jarvis_best) September 3, 2026

“You must let the homeless in your house or you cant complain when they break in”
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) September 2, 2026

I’m embarrassed for CATO for posting this thinking that doing so made sense and was a good idea.
— Wade Miller (@WadeMiller) September 3, 2026

There's one pending Community Note suggested to be added to Cato's post, reading simply, "It's possible to legally immigrate to the United States of America."

Just build a wall and enforce the law, and you can have both.

Pro-open borders folks think people can't be stopped from entering a country. Trump ended border crossings in 24 hrs.
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 (@Based_Atheist) September 2, 2026

The Cato institute is no better than the DSA radicals.

Imagine thinking that wanted to control our sovereign borders is bad.

I swear, libertarians are sometimes worse than progressives because they're like wolves in sheeps clothing
— Bartemy Jones (@BartemyS) September 3, 2026

Bier is paid to push this position. The real question is why is anyone taking it seriously?
— Thomas Lynch (@1fastkeowee) September 3, 2026

This is his full-time job, and he's not good at it.

This from the same organization that still insists Biden didn't open our border and that millions suddenly rushed our border because of "employment demands."

Theirs is a set of theories blown apart by Biden's actions. But they're sticking with them.
— AAE (@AAC0519) September 2, 2026

Its pretty hard to get tickets to a Taylor Swift concert too. Lots of demand but entry is limited because venues cant accomodate the millions of people who want in. Should it be ok if everyone just storms the entrance and floods in without a ticket?
— OffCenterRight (@OffCenterRight) September 3, 2026

Who has made legal immigration impossible?

Nobody has. You can still immigrate legally.

It does come with a few caveats. Like contributing to society and not engaging in criminal behaviour like rape, burglary, or murder.
— Barry Whittingham 🇬🇧 (@BJWhittingham) September 3, 2026

You can still immigrate legally, and it's a privilege. The United States isn't obligated to accept any immigrants. It's not unreasonable to seek out immigrants who will assimilate and contribute to our society. We don't need to open the border to more than 10 million illegal immigrants because immigrating legally is "impossible."

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Cato Stooge Tells Congress It Created Illegal Immigration by Making Legal Immigration 'Impossible'

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