Witness called to testify about border hasn’t been to border

A witness testifying before Congress on Wednesday about the border crisis acknowledged he’d never been to the border, resulting in U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, raising questions and concerns about the testimony.

Speaking before members of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Wednesday, David Bier, associate director of Immigration Studies at the Washington, D.C.-based libertarian Cato Institute, blamed failed immigration policies on the Trump administration.

“In January 2017, this flawed and already failing system underwent a years-long intentional sabotage campaign unlike anything witnessed in the history of modern immigration law," Bier, a Democrat, said. From January 2017 to January 2021, nearly 500 policies – large and small – were implemented to disrupt the legal immigration system’s normal operations.”

He also said, “America’s immigration laws and regulations were already far too restrictive, offering little to no viable alternative to illegal immigration for most immigrants seeking entry to the United States.”

Bier spoke ahead of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee holding a hearing Thursday on the consequences of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ border policies.

Bier advocated for more foreign nationals to enter the U.S. to fill open jobs.

“From January 2021 to May 2023, the United States consistently averaged 10.5 million job openings per month,” he said. “Every month since January 2021 has seen more job openings than any previous month.”

Biggs asked Bier if he knew how many known, suspected terrorists (KSTs) entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office.

“A couple of hundred,” he replied.

Biggs replied, “No, that’s the number that we’ve actually interdicted. How many [terrorists] have come in? Do you know?”

“I know how many Border Patrol has arrested,” Bier replied. Biggs again repeated his question, saying he didn’t know how many had come in. Bier said he didn’t know either but “wanted Border Patrol [agents] to go after terrorists. If people came into the country legally, we’d have a more secure border.”

In fiscal 2023 alone, 736 KSTs were apprehended at U.S. borders, the highest number in U.S. history. The majority, 66%, were apprehended at the northern border, The Center Square first reported.

Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan, who also testifiedWednesday, said the number of KSTs who weren’t caught who illegally entered the U.S. “should frighten everyone.” He also said current policies “have created the greatest national security crisis since 9/11.”

Biggs asked Bier if he’d “ever been to the border and watched the current process” of how Border Patrol agents issue parole papers to foreign nationals after they illegally enter the country.

“I’ve seen it on video,” he replied.

“You’ve not been down there?” Biggs asked.

“I’ve not personally witnessed it,” Bier replied.

Bier also repeated a previously debunked claim that 90% of fentanyl has been seized at ports of entry. Border Patrol chiefs and law enforcement officials have contradicted that claim, saying the majority of fentanyl is being trafficked between ports of entry and agents are needed in the field to seize it. Texas law enforcement officers, who don’t work at ports of entry, have seized more than 453 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill more than everyone in the U.S. and Mexico, according to data from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.

Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz testified last year that Border Patrol agents had been instructed to release illegal foreign nationals en masse into the U.S. Rio Grande Valley Sector. Border Patrol Chief Gloria Chavez told officials the same thing.

Mayorkas changed and implemented new parole policies, prompting multiple lawsuits, including one led by Florida. In one Florida case, a federal judge ruled Mayorkas’ policies were illegal and “the evidence establishes that Defendants [including Secretary Mayorkas] have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand” and that Mayorkas’ “actions were akin to posting a flashing ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign on the southern border.”

When asked about the parole process, Homan explained that illegal foreign nationals get work authorization papers. Biggs asked Bier, “How many people who were paroled into the country are working?” Bier said he didn’t know.

“Nobody knows,” Biggs said. “You want to know why? We don’t keep in contact with them. We have no idea where they went. We’ve taken them and distributed them throughout the country and we don’t know where they are or what they are doing.”