Bernie Moreno’s Gotcha Question That Shouldn’t Have Been a Gotcha
I watched US Senator Bernie Moreno pose the most brain-meltingly obvious question in congressional history: “Should it be a crime to enter the country illegally?” The witness, Brendan Duke, Senior Director for Federal Budget Policy testifying to the Senate Budget Committee, blinked like a deer in headlights and mumbled, “I don’t know anything about that. I’m here to talk about budgets.”
Oh, sweet summer child. You’re testifying on the Senate Budget Committee and you suddenly develop amnesia about the single biggest line item that blows up budgets? That’s adorable. Budgets are affected by immigration far more than taxpayers know—especially the illegal flavor. We’re talking billions in emergency healthcare, education, housing subsidies, welfare programs, law enforcement, and court backlogs. But sure, Brendan, stick to spreadsheets and pretend the root cause has nothing to do with the red ink.
Let’s be real: every other country on Earth treats illegal immigration like the crime it is. Mexico doesn’t play. Sneak across their southern border without papers? Felony, up to two years in prison. Get deported and try sneaking back in? Welcome to a potential ten-year stay in a Mexican jail. Overstay a visa? Up to six years. Even Mexicans who help illegal immigrants can face criminal charges. And if you’re deemed bad for the economy, not healthy enough, or just too broke to support yourself and your dependents? Mexico can deport you faster than you can say “coyote fees.”
Yet when an American senator dares to ask if we should enforce our own laws, the expert witness channels his inner goldfish. Not because he’s stupid—though that remains on the table—but because admitting the obvious would collapse the entire open-border fairy tale these people have been selling.
These witnesses aren’t confused. They’re strategically ignorant. Dishonest or dumb (or both), they serve one purpose: to launder bad policy through bureaucratic word salad while the rest of us foot the bill.
If you can’t answer a first-grade-level question about whether breaking immigration law should be illegal, maybe you shouldn’t be anywhere near the federal budget. Go balance someone’s checkbook instead. Ours is already messy enough thanks to people like you.
