David Bier
@davidjbier.bsky.social
Cato Institute, Director of Immigration Studies, Cato's Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy, BEER, not buyer. Cato, not CATO
The Dems' video telling service members to ignore illegal orders didn't go far enough. They should've also urged them to refuse unethical orders, whether illegal or not. There are many things deemed "legal" that are still obviously unethical, and everyone should hold themselves to this higher law
February 11, 2026 at 5:13 PM
The Dems' video telling service members to ignore illegal orders didn't go far enough. They should've also urged them to refuse unethical orders, whether illegal or not. There are many things deemed "legal" that are still obviously unethical, and everyone should hold themselves to this higher law
It’s interesting how we used to negotiate free trade agreements and now they’re just trade agreements. They are dropping the “free” from in front of lots of things these days: trade, speech, press, market, country.
Mike Johnson: "I think it's a big mistake. I don't think we need to go down the road of trying to limit the president's power while he is in the midst of negotiating America first trade agreements ... tariffs have done great for the economy"
February 11, 2026 at 1:42 PM
It’s interesting how we used to negotiate free trade agreements and now they’re just trade agreements. They are dropping the “free” from in front of lots of things these days: trade, speech, press, market, country.
Body cam from when Border Patrol shot a woman 5 times in Chicago last year. The agents have guns drawn and pointed. One says "do something b----." Then: "Time to get aggressive." Moments later, the driver can be seen swerving the car into hers, jumping out & firing almost immediately.
February 11, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Body cam from when Border Patrol shot a woman 5 times in Chicago last year. The agents have guns drawn and pointed. One says "do something b----." Then: "Time to get aggressive." Moments later, the driver can be seen swerving the car into hers, jumping out & firing almost immediately.
Reposted by David Bier
6) ERRORS ABOUND: The crush of habeas cases have led to an epidemic of sloppy filings, incorrect info provided to courts, botched attachments of crucial files, etc. But they're at their most severe when they lead to erroneous deportations. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 10, 2026 at 11:41 AM
6) ERRORS ABOUND: The crush of habeas cases have led to an epidemic of sloppy filings, incorrect info provided to courts, botched attachments of crucial files, etc. But they're at their most severe when they lead to erroneous deportations. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by David Bier
Tomorrow I will testify before subcommittee of House Judiciary Committee against the proposed "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act," which would authorize exclusion/deportation of all or most non-citizen Muslim immigrants. My written testimony posted here: reason.com/wp-content/u...
reason.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:25 PM
Tomorrow I will testify before subcommittee of House Judiciary Committee against the proposed "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act," which would authorize exclusion/deportation of all or most non-citizen Muslim immigrants. My written testimony posted here: reason.com/wp-content/u...
Best response to our study yet: The nativist equation is: Not hearing Spanish > infinite $$.
February 8, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Best response to our study yet: The nativist equation is: Not hearing Spanish > infinite $$.
Reposted by David Bier
Reviewing video from Fulton County elections raid.
Taken aback by the dismissive & sneering attitude from FBI agents toward the cop politely asking to see the warrant.
Looked him up: He's an immigrant w/ a doctorate in philosophy. His thesis? "Force by police officers toward African Americans."
Taken aback by the dismissive & sneering attitude from FBI agents toward the cop politely asking to see the warrant.
Looked him up: He's an immigrant w/ a doctorate in philosophy. His thesis? "Force by police officers toward African Americans."
February 6, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reviewing video from Fulton County elections raid.
Taken aback by the dismissive & sneering attitude from FBI agents toward the cop politely asking to see the warrant.
Looked him up: He's an immigrant w/ a doctorate in philosophy. His thesis? "Force by police officers toward African Americans."
Taken aback by the dismissive & sneering attitude from FBI agents toward the cop politely asking to see the warrant.
Looked him up: He's an immigrant w/ a doctorate in philosophy. His thesis? "Force by police officers toward African Americans."
These are all good but there's NO ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM PROVIDED. We need:
-universal, nationwide injunction authority
-right of states and localities to investigate/prosecute
-codify Bivens, right to sue ICE/no qualified immunity
-universal, nationwide injunction authority
-right of states and localities to investigate/prosecute
-codify Bivens, right to sue ICE/no qualified immunity
SENATE AND HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE UNITED ON REINING IN THE ABUSES OF ICE
Americans have watched in horror as ICE has terrorized communities across the country
Federal agents can’t continue to cause chaos in our cities while more Americans are killed
We must rein in ICE
Here’s what we're demanding:
Americans have watched in horror as ICE has terrorized communities across the country
Federal agents can’t continue to cause chaos in our cities while more Americans are killed
We must rein in ICE
Here’s what we're demanding:
February 5, 2026 at 4:11 PM
These are all good but there's NO ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM PROVIDED. We need:
-universal, nationwide injunction authority
-right of states and localities to investigate/prosecute
-codify Bivens, right to sue ICE/no qualified immunity
-universal, nationwide injunction authority
-right of states and localities to investigate/prosecute
-codify Bivens, right to sue ICE/no qualified immunity
I've wanted to make this graph for years, and we finally did it. Here's where all the government's money came from and went to for the last 30 years. Immigrants aren't the cause of the problem. cato.org/white-paper/...
For decades, nativists have sold America this narrative that immigrant welfare is behind our deficits and debt. This figure shows how absurd that is. This is all government expenditures, federal, state, and local, for the last 3 decades. Immigrants are not to blame:
February 3, 2026 at 4:50 PM
I've wanted to make this graph for years, and we finally did it. Here's where all the government's money came from and went to for the last 30 years. Immigrants aren't the cause of the problem. cato.org/white-paper/...
Today @cato.org published our report providing the first look at the fiscal effects of the wave of legal & illegal immigration over the last 3 decades. It shows immigrants created surpluses every year, by a combined $14.5 trillion, even as deficits grew www.cato.org/white-paper/...
February 3, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Today @cato.org published our report providing the first look at the fiscal effects of the wave of legal & illegal immigration over the last 3 decades. It shows immigrants created surpluses every year, by a combined $14.5 trillion, even as deficits grew www.cato.org/white-paper/...
Reposted by David Bier
I'm quoted today by reporter Meg Anderson on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition on ICE's disregard for what courts have said are constitutional rights. /1
February 1, 2026 at 1:43 PM
I'm quoted today by reporter Meg Anderson on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition on ICE's disregard for what courts have said are constitutional rights. /1
Op-ed with my colleague and physician Jeff Singer: "The ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota is already producing a familiar yet increasingly harmful side effect: Patients are avoiding doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals out of fear." www.minnpost.com/community-vo...
Fear of immigration raids undermines Minnesota health care
Patients and workers are avoiding health care facilities as immigration crackdown continues to roil the state.
www.minnpost.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Op-ed with my colleague and physician Jeff Singer: "The ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota is already producing a familiar yet increasingly harmful side effect: Patients are avoiding doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals out of fear." www.minnpost.com/community-vo...
WOW A HUGE PROCEDURAL WIN
🚨 The Senate has agreed to a deal to vote on 5/6 full appropriations bills and replace the DHS funding measure with a 2-week stopgap bill, per multiple sources. That gives time to negotiate on the Dem demands for ICE and CBP restraints.
January 29, 2026 at 11:49 PM
WOW A HUGE PROCEDURAL WIN
Reposted by David Bier
What's morale like at CBP & ICE right now? New survey data are damning.
*21% of CBP respondents (9% of ICE respondents) believe their agencies' political leaders maintain high standards of integrity.
*Only 23% at CBP (18% at ICE) feel confident they could report illegal acts without retribution
*21% of CBP respondents (9% of ICE respondents) believe their agencies' political leaders maintain high standards of integrity.
*Only 23% at CBP (18% at ICE) feel confident they could report illegal acts without retribution
January 29, 2026 at 10:10 PM
What's morale like at CBP & ICE right now? New survey data are damning.
*21% of CBP respondents (9% of ICE respondents) believe their agencies' political leaders maintain high standards of integrity.
*Only 23% at CBP (18% at ICE) feel confident they could report illegal acts without retribution
*21% of CBP respondents (9% of ICE respondents) believe their agencies' political leaders maintain high standards of integrity.
*Only 23% at CBP (18% at ICE) feel confident they could report illegal acts without retribution
New orders in MN are to focus on criminals. No one on the right will be upset DHS is now admitting that it lied about focusing on the "worst of the worst." They gaslit their own people FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR on this. Right wingers defended these lies for them repeatedly.
January 29, 2026 at 9:10 PM
New orders in MN are to focus on criminals. No one on the right will be upset DHS is now admitting that it lied about focusing on the "worst of the worst." They gaslit their own people FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR on this. Right wingers defended these lies for them repeatedly.
Reposted by David Bier
Ossoff: "They are building the libertarian, the conservatives' worst nightmare of a Leviathan federal government that is totally unaccountable that acts outside of the Constitution, and a society in which individual rights are not protected."
January 29, 2026 at 2:54 AM
Ossoff: "They are building the libertarian, the conservatives' worst nightmare of a Leviathan federal government that is totally unaccountable that acts outside of the Constitution, and a society in which individual rights are not protected."
Reposted by David Bier
RAND PAUL: If a country bombed our air defense missiles, captured & removed our president, & blockaded our country, would that be considered an act of war?
RUBIO: We just don't believe this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition
PAUL: Of course it would be an act of war!
RUBIO: We just don't believe this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition
PAUL: Of course it would be an act of war!
January 28, 2026 at 4:29 PM
RAND PAUL: If a country bombed our air defense missiles, captured & removed our president, & blockaded our country, would that be considered an act of war?
RUBIO: We just don't believe this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition
PAUL: Of course it would be an act of war!
RUBIO: We just don't believe this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition
PAUL: Of course it would be an act of war!
For decades, nativists have said that mass deportation was about "the rule of law." Now we can see that they never cared about the rule of law at all. The Administration Misleads & Ignores Courts Most Often in Immigration Cases www.cato.org/blog/admin-m...
January 28, 2026 at 1:43 PM
For decades, nativists have said that mass deportation was about "the rule of law." Now we can see that they never cared about the rule of law at all. The Administration Misleads & Ignores Courts Most Often in Immigration Cases www.cato.org/blog/admin-m...
My new analysis: The administration misleads and ignores courts most often in immigration cases. In fact, a majority of the instances identified in a compilation by @justsecurity.org were about immigration. When deportations are on the line, expect them to lie to courts. www.cato.org/blog/admin-m...
January 28, 2026 at 1:20 PM
My new analysis: The administration misleads and ignores courts most often in immigration cases. In fact, a majority of the instances identified in a compilation by @justsecurity.org were about immigration. When deportations are on the line, expect them to lie to courts. www.cato.org/blog/admin-m...
Reposted by David Bier
From colleague @davidjbier.bsky.social: in a @justsecurity.org survey of dozens of cases in which the Trump admin misled the courts or failed to comply with court orders, more than half the cases in both categories were immigration-related matters. Deportation mania undermines legal integrity.
The Administration Misleads & Ignores Courts Most Often in Immigration Cases
In fact, immigration-related cases account for most of the deception and noncompliance by the Trump administration in court.
www.cato.org
January 28, 2026 at 12:03 AM
From colleague @davidjbier.bsky.social: in a @justsecurity.org survey of dozens of cases in which the Trump admin misled the courts or failed to comply with court orders, more than half the cases in both categories were immigration-related matters. Deportation mania undermines legal integrity.
Reposted by David Bier
I repeat, absolutely an amateur hour situation. Just wildly dumb stuff going on here.
In videos posted on social media, one employee can be heard saying: “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” The agent responds, “If you touch me, I’ll grab you.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
January 28, 2026 at 12:58 AM
I repeat, absolutely an amateur hour situation. Just wildly dumb stuff going on here.
San Antonio Spurs NBA star Victor Wembanyama says that he's "horrified" by what he's seeing, but "I'm conscious that saying everything that's on my mind would have a cost that's too great for me right now," speaking "as a foreigner." HORRIFYING! We are not a free country! Evil.
January 27, 2026 at 9:41 PM
San Antonio Spurs NBA star Victor Wembanyama says that he's "horrified" by what he's seeing, but "I'm conscious that saying everything that's on my mind would have a cost that's too great for me right now," speaking "as a foreigner." HORRIFYING! We are not a free country! Evil.
Bovino openly says that we are never learning the identity of the murderer because that would be "doxing." He says he has already gotten the agent out of Minnesota's jurisdiction. He put him back on the job. He is part of an extensive, open criminal coverup.
January 26, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Bovino openly says that we are never learning the identity of the murderer because that would be "doxing." He says he has already gotten the agent out of Minnesota's jurisdiction. He put him back on the job. He is part of an extensive, open criminal coverup.
Wouldn’t the rest of the DHS not want to be confused with a murderer? Every question from now on to a DHS masker is: are you a murderer?
January 26, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Wouldn’t the rest of the DHS not want to be confused with a murderer? Every question from now on to a DHS masker is: are you a murderer?
Not only has Minneapolis police not had to shoot anyone in a year. But there has been just ONE homicide in Minneapolis this year, but TWO unofficial DHS homicides: 67% of city homicides are DHS homicides! And 43% of all gunshot victims!
Per filing by asst Minneapolis city atty yesterday:
In first 12 months of 2025, Minneapolis PD had no officer-involved shootings.
Since Dec 1, 2025, federal agents in Minneapolis have had three. ...
1/ 2
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
In first 12 months of 2025, Minneapolis PD had no officer-involved shootings.
Since Dec 1, 2025, federal agents in Minneapolis have had three. ...
1/ 2
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 25, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Not only has Minneapolis police not had to shoot anyone in a year. But there has been just ONE homicide in Minneapolis this year, but TWO unofficial DHS homicides: 67% of city homicides are DHS homicides! And 43% of all gunshot victims!