Cato Institute Claims Legal Immigration Is ‘Impossible,’ Sparking Backlash
During a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on sanctuary policies, Cato Institute senior fellow David J. Bier declared that America has made legal immigration “impossible,” thereby creating the illegal immigration crisis.
Bier argued that the scarcity of legal pathways forces migrants into unlawful entry, saying, “If you make legal immigration impossible, don’t complain about illegal immigration. You created it. You made it illegal.”
He added that only three percent of prospective permanent residents are approved each year, likening the situation to a hypothetical ban on most gun sales.
Legal scholars and immigration advocates rejected the premise, noting that the United States maintains multiple visa categories and that other nations enforce far stricter limits while still permitting legal entry.
“Our immigrant coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family want to contribute to this country legally,” Bier said. “Let them. Fix legal immigration.”
Critics flooded social media, labeling the claim as “monumentally stupid” and “an insult to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens.” Mollie Hemingway tweeted that Bier’s argument “doesn’t withstand scrutiny,” while Andrew Broering called it “an insult to Americans, legal immigrants, and naturalized citizens.”
Auron MacIntyre posted a meme comparing Bier’s logic to a distorted rape analogy, further fueling the backlash.
Christian Heiens used a home‑invasion metaphor, stating that restricting entry does not justify lawbreaking, and warned that such reasoning erodes the rule of law.
An editor’s note from the publishing outlet emphasized support for mass deportations over mass amnesty, urging readers to join Townhall VIP with promo code FIGHT for a discount.
