WATCH: Eye-popping illegal immigration stat prompts senator's demand to 'redouble' deportations
Testimony from a policy analyst at a libertarian think tank was unexpectedly highlighted by immigration hawks after he delivered an opening statement at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing featuring controversial...
By Fox News · Fox News
Testimony from a policy analyst at a libertarian think tank was unexpectedly highlighted by immigration hawks after he delivered an opening statement at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing featuring controversial Fairfax County prosecutor Stephen Descano. The hearing, chaired by Rep. Thomas McClintock, R-Calif., examined several examples of allegedly lax prosecutions by Descano involving illegal immigrants with prior rap sheets — including a Sierra Leone national accused of murdering a young woman at a bus stop on U.S. 1. In his opening remarks, Cato Institute immigration expert David Bier testified that the "way to fix Fairfax" is not to continue the "mass deportation" agenda of President Donald Trump . "The first step would be to give up on the mass deportation fantasy," Bier said. SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR SET FOR CAPITOL HILL GRILLING AS SANCTUARY POLICIES FACE RECKONING "About 1-in-5 Fairfax residents is someone who could be deported or who lives with them — It would destroy neighborhoods, rip Americans away from their spouses, parents, friends, families, customers, employees, employers, nurses, nannies, and teachers." While Bier later added that he believes noncitizens who harm Americans should be deported, his earlier statement drew the attention of several immigration hawks, including Sen. Mike Lee, R- Utah . Lee borrowed Bier’s logic to prove immigration hardliners’ point that mass deportation is the right solution: "On the contrary: 20% of a wealthy DC suburb being illegal immigrants means we should redouble our efforts to deport them all," Lee said. Bier responded to Lee's comments in a lengthy statement to Fox News Digital, arguing the Utah Republican failed to explain why mass deportation would benefit Americans in Fairfax County. "What was the senator’s explanation for [his] statement? The senator never says why it would benefit the country to harm Fairfax County and the Americans who live there, so there’s nothing to rebut," Bier said. FOX NEWS POLL…