David J. Bier is the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C., where he holds the Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy. He writes and comments on immigration law and enforcement.
Case
A federal judge ruled that ICE agents falsified records and gave false testimony about two Bronx arrests in May. DHS says it does not arrest citizens by mistake and that the matter will be litigated in court.
Role at the time: Director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, in a post on X
Statement summary
David J. Bier said ICE pulled a gun on a New York teenager, beat him, realized it had the wrong person, and left him bloody and injured far from his home.
“ICE pulled a gun on a NY teenager, beat him, and then realized they got the wrong guy. Like other cases targeting citizens, ICE dumped him in a random location far from his home, bloody and injured.”
The reference point is whether ICE agents falsified records and testimony to justify the arrests of Almonte and Concepcion. Bier says ICE "pulled a gun on a NY teenager, beat him, and then realized they got the wrong guy." That condemns the agents' conduct in Concepcion's arrest, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, which would fit criticism with an acknowledgment of the agents' account; he offers none.
Statement dates: May 8, 2026
Statement dates: May 8, 2026
Statement dates: May 8, 2026
