Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna blasted a so-called “immigration expert” testifying before a House committee in Washington on Wednesday when he began laughing at her over her accusations that the Biden administration is aiding in the trafficking of children at the southern border.
David J. Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, was testifying before lawmakers during a House hearing on immigration when he began openly laughing at Rep. Luna when she was asking him her questions.
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C., that is funded by the Koch Brothers and advocates for lose border policies and nearly untrammeled illegal immigration.
But the exchange immediately became contentious when Luna came out in favor of separating families when they enter Border Patrol custody, so officials can determine who these people are and if the children they are escorting really are their children. Her goal is to fight the rampant human trafficking of children by criminal coyotes.
“You talk about intentional trauma and that the Trump administration caused intentional trauma by separating these children from their quote, unquote parents,” the Florida congresswoman said as she began her line of questioning. “The fact is that one, you don’t know that these people are — why are you laughing? Mr. Bier, why are you laughing?”
“Because you said quote, unquote parents as if they really weren’t their parents,” Bier scoffed.
Why was @CatoInstitute’s David Bier laughing about child trafficking at the border?
Disgusting display of ignorance. pic.twitter.com/4eek7BEvnk
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) January 17, 2024
Luna tried to reply to that assertion, saying, “You have no idea. Not only have you not been to the border…,” but Bier interrupted exclaiming, “I do have an idea!”
Does more need to be done to combat human trafficking in America?
But the congresswoman disagreed that he or anyone else has an “idea” about the real parentage of these illegals streaming across the border. And she argued in favor of a separation policy.
“Hold on, I’m not done. I’m not done. You have no idea if these people are their intentional parents or not,” she said. “You have no idea. That’s exactly why we do family separation!” she said.
Once again Bier insisted, “We do.”
Luna was incensed by this arrogant reply and by the way Bier was making fun of child trafficking.
“Really? Are you psychic? Have you won the lotto, Mr. Bier? I don’t think you have. … The reason why we want family separation until we can confirm they are the actual biological parents …” she said again being interrupted by the Cato operative.
“You want family separation?” he asked in an incredulous tone as Luna continued, adding, “… is because these kids are being trafficked.”
She ended the discussion by blasting Bier, saying she was done talking to him because “what you did was destructive.”
Bier insisted that a report from 2021 showed that the Trump policy of separating families was a failure, Huff Post reported.
After the encounter, Luna posted another video to X saying that she makes no apologies for her stern scolding of Bier.
“If you’re saying ‘family’ separation is bad thing, you’re a part of the problem. I make no apologies. Educate yourself and stop supporting a President that is part of the problem,” she wrote.
If you’re saying “family” separation is bad thing, you’re a part of the problem. I make no apologies. Educate yourself and stop supporting a President that is part of the problem. pic.twitter.com/nCvz0d4Ko7
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) January 17, 2024
Many supported Luna’s approach to the issue of human trafficking at the southern border.
Thank you Representative Luna. Many listened to the entire hearing & were stunned by outrageous untruthful David Bier testimony. That he made fun of & laughed about child #HumanTrafficking was disgusting. Have followed #CatoInstitute for 15 years but no longer.
Have a great day🌞— Kenn Weeks (@KennRWeeks) January 17, 2024
Others praised Rep. Luna for her scolding.
Why not just do DNA testing. Why did Biden stop this practice? 30% of the children were not with their parents. There have been videos of children that are clearly drugged and the person holding them couldn’t answer basic questions about them. This guy is a disgrace.
— Lady (@lovingit111) January 18, 2024
You are so correct. Biden ended the DNA testing they were doing at the border. This guy is a disgrace to the human race laughing as you are talking about the seriousness of people bringing children across that are not their wrong. Just to get through. We have seen sedated…
— Keith Outen (@KeithWo4418) January 17, 2024
that guy is disgusting.
— I got nothing (@TheRealPanicFC) January 18, 2024
Luna has a point. We have no clue if these are real families or if the kids seen by CBP have been bought for the purpose of aiding illegals to gain access to the country. After all, Joe Biden’s administration ended the DNA testing that helped U.S. officials determine if adult migrants really are related to the children they are accompanying across the border.
Even Customs and Border Protection admits that illegals often buy children to accompany them across the border because they assume it will be easier to gain quick entry if they have a child with them. As far back as 2019, CBP reported that 6,200 fraudulent family members were stopped at the border. Today that number is certainly many times higher.
