<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rep. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?s=chip+roy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chip Roy</a> (R-TX) questioned a witness during a <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/sanctuary-policies-tragic-consequences" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">House Judiciary hearing</a> on September 1, 2026, regarding his refusal to state that individuals who enter the U.S. illegally should not be released.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The hearing addressed <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/4707904/new-york-ice-surge-operation-rotten-apple-arrests/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sanctuary city</a> policies, featuring four witnesses including a Harford County sheriff, an immigration expert, and two family members of victims injured by <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?s=immigration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">immigrants</a> who entered the U.S. illegally.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">David Bier, director of immigration studies at the <a href="https://www.cato.org/people/david-bier" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CATO Institute</a>, focused his testimony on the contributions of immigrants, both legal and illegal, to the U.S. economy. He stated, "In just the last three decades, immigrants legal and illegal have reduced [the] federal, state, and local deficit [by] $14.5 trillion. They work and start businesses at higher rates, but rather than embrace this tradition, this administration threatens to end it."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Coleman, a California resident, recounted his daughter's experience of being struck by an illegal immigrant driving an 18-wheeler, which left her permanently disabled. He attributed the incident to sanctuary city policies implemented by Democrats, stating, "Every day something is happening to somebody and it is your guys’s fault. I hold each and every one of you responsible for it. And I always will."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bier later mentioned that immigrant drivers in California average about "25% fewer fatal crashes."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Patricia Fox, a resident of Denver, testified about her daughter’s hit-and-run incident involving an illegal immigrant. She expressed her frustration, saying, "If an American citizen hit my daughter, I wouldn’t be here asking, ‘Why was someone, who had no lawful right to be here in this country, here to hit her in the first place?’"</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The hearing became contentious as Roy pressed Bier on whether the two illegal immigrants involved in the testimonies should have been released. Roy stated, "So you’re fine with the two individuals who were released by the Biden administration, who were able to carry out and engage in this activity that resulted in the death and the destruction and the maiming of the American people."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The discussion included interruptions as Bier reiterated his support for a legal process to vet immigrants. Roy challenged him, asking if immigrants should be allowed to "walk across the border without regard to our visas or our laws." Bier responded, "no," but later indicated that the decision on whether immigrants taken into custody after crossing illegally should be released back into the U.S. depends on the circumstances.</p>