Senator Kennedy Takes Aim at Witness, Fires Off Five Iconic Words at Hearing [WATCH]

A tense exchange unfolded Tuesday during a Senate Budget Committee hearing when Sen. John Kennedy sharply criticized testimony from immigration policy analyst David Bier after Bier accused the administration of President Donald Trump of attempting what he described as a “population purge.”

As Fox News reported, the hearing, titled “Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order,” included testimony from several witnesses invited by Democratic lawmakers.

Bier, who works as an immigration policy expert at the Cato Institute, argued during his remarks that immigration—both legal and illegal—benefits the United States economically.

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During questioning from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Bier said immigrants help reduce the national deficit and contribute to the country’s workforce.

“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,” Bier said.

Bier further argued that immigrant workers participate in the labor force at higher rates than the national average.

“It’s easy to understand why” immigrants reduce the deficit “because 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.”

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The discussion escalated when Bier defended federal judges who have issued rulings opposing immigration enforcement actions carried out by the Trump administration.

Bier said judges opposing the administration’s policies were “much braver” than officers working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“They are much braver. They put their names on their rulings, and they stand behind their constitutional rulings,” Bier said.

Bier also accused the administration of attempting to reduce the population of the United States.

“They’re trying to deport U.S.-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 U.S.-born people.”

Kennedy responded directly to Bier’s comments.

“What planet did you parachute in from?”

“You trigger my gag reflex.”

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