Revised and Updated Version of My Article "Immigration is Not Invasion"
It is now available on SSRN. The revision adds additional evidence, and takes account of various recent events, including Trump's military intervention in Venezuela.
Immigration
Thoughts on the Capture of Maduro and Trump's Attack on Venezuela
Maduro is a brutal dictator who is getting what he deserves. But Trump's actions are still illegal, because lacking proper congressional authorization. Whether they result in a beneficial regime change in Venezuela remains to be seen.
Presence of Probable Cause Precludes Claim That Immigration Arrest Was Retaliation for First-Amendment-Protected Speech
So concludes a federal district in Louisiana, disagreeing with a Ninth Circuit panel.
3 Areas Where the Courts Pushed Back Against Trump's Attempts To Avoid Judicial Review in 2025
The president asserted broad powers to deport people, impose tariffs, and deploy the National Guard based on his own unilateral determinations.
Did Brett Kavanaugh Just Apologize for Butchering the Fourth Amendment? Maybe.
Puzzling over a curious omission from the conservative justice.
Department of Homeland Security
DHS Says REAL ID, Which DHS Certifies, Is Too Unreliable To Confirm U.S. Citizenship
It's the punch line to a bad joke that started 20 years ago when Congress passed the REAL ID Act.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
What the Media Didn't Tell You in 2025
The Reason editors examine the most underreported stories of 2025 across politics, economics, global affairs, and culture.
"[T]he First and Fifth Amendments Require ICE to Provide Information About the Whereabouts of a Detained Person"
ICE Salt Lake City apparently isn't answering its phone.
Could the Feds Throw You in Jail for Merely Filming ICE Immigration Raids?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said "videotaping" agents was violence—but Border Patrol brought a film crew to Chicago-area raids.
Thoughts on the Supreme Court Ruling Against Trump in the Illinois National Guard Case
The decision is a preliminary "shadow docket" ruling. But it strongly suggests the majority believes Trump's use of the Guard is illegal.
The Fourth Amendment's Erratic Year at the Supreme Court
The right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure had a rocky 2025.
Refusing To Let Trump Deploy the National Guard in Chicago, SCOTUS Adds a New Wrinkle To the Debate
The justices suggested the president is misinterpreting "the regular forces," a key phrase in the statute on which he is relying.
Why the Economic Impact of Immigration Restrictions is Similar to that of Racial Discrimination and Apartheid
Economist Tarnell Brown explains.
5 Things You Should Know About the Latest Bari Weiss 60 Minutes Controversy
Is Bari Weiss censoring 60 Minutes or improving its output?
What If Congress Limited Birthright Citizenship and Nobody Noticed?
A new study further undermines revisionist claims about birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, noting a dog that did not bark.
He Started a Business Legally. Now Trump's Mass Deportations Threaten Him and Other Immigrant Entrepreneurs.
Immigrants start businesses at a higher rate than native-born Americans, benefitting not only themselves but also their American workers and customers.
Trump's Cruel and Illegal Expanded Travel Ban
A recent White House proclamation further expands his previous travel bans, to the point of barring nearly all legal migration from some 40 countries. Legally, it further underscores that Trump is claiming virtually unlimited executive power to restrict immigration,a claim that runs afoul of the nondelegation doctrine.
Trump Administration Drops Effort to Deport Chinese Dissident Guan Heng to Uganda
This is likely the result of the massive public outcry supporting Guan. But Trump continues to deport other dissidents and victims of persecution back to their oppressors.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Is Part Spectacle, Part Retread
An eco-action film that covers too much familiar ground.
Trump's Somali Insults Are a Disgrace
A welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota is the Trump administration's latest excuse for demonizing immigrants and refugees.
Trump Won on Immigration. Now Most Americans Say His Deportations Are Going Too Far.
The public wants violent criminals deported, not workers and their families.
The Trump Administration Is Abusing a Law To Threaten ICE Protesters. The Cases Are Falling Apart.
The administration doesn't want to win these cases. It wants to intimidate Americans who oppose its immigration policies.
Trump Blames Illegal Immigrants for High Housing Prices. Blame Zoning Instead.
Low-skilled immigrants would expand the supply of housing more than they increase demand, if local governments would just allow new construction.
Yes, the First Amendment Applies to Non-Citizens Present in the United States
A conservative federal judge questions the reach of free speech.
Trump's Attempt to Deport Chinese Dissident Guan Heng is Part of an Awful Pattern
The administration has sought to deport numerous dissenters back to their oppressors.
Guan Heng Exposed China's Uyghur Camps. ICE Wants To Deport Him.
U.S. immigration authorities should not do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party.
These Congressmen Want To Give You the Right To Sue Federal Law Enforcement for Violating Your Rights
The proposed bills aim to revive and codify a 1971 Supreme Court ruling that allowed individuals to sue the feds for Fourth Amendment violations.
When Originalism Undermines Trump
From birthright citizenship to tariffs, many of the president’s key policies run counter to the Constitution’s original meaning.
Reflections on Lecturing in Mexico
My first-ever visit to Mexico gave me some perspective on America's crucial neighbor.
The Feds' 'Worst of the Worst' Database Is Stuffed With Nonviolent Offenders. Who Exactly Is ICE Arresting?
Most ICE arrestees are nonviolent or have no criminal convictions at all.
The Real Villain in Minnesota's $1.5 Billion Fraud Scandal Isn't Somalis—It's the Feds
In America, we judge people according to the content of their character, not the behavior of a narrow minority of their coethnics.
Trump Administration Claims That Spending $140 Million on Jets for Deportations Will Save Money
But the real goal is to speed up removals, despite ongoing due process violations.
Want To Vacation In America? Trump Wants To See Your Social Media Posts First.
The move is bad for free speech and bad for American businesses that depend on tourism.
Massachusetts Church's 'ICE Was Here' Nativity Scene Is Protected Speech, Even if ICE Doesn't Like It
Rev. Stephen Josoma of St. Susanna Parish defended the message against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.
The 2025 Libertarian Gift Guide: 28 Great Ideas for Apocalypse Preppers, Boozers, Self-Improvers—and More
Panicked about holiday shopping? Reason staffers and contributors are here to save the day.
Non-Paywalled Version of My Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
The Cato Institute has posted one on its website.
The Government Wants To Punish Orgasmic Meditation Defendants for Crimes They Weren't Charged With
The prosecutors argue that sentencing based on unconvicted—or even uncharged—conduct doesn't violate due process.
Trump Thinks a $100,000 Visa Fee Would Make Companies Hire More Americans. It Could Do the Opposite.
Countries like Canada and Germany are lining up to welcome companies and workers priced out by the H1-B price hike.
Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Birthright Citizenship (This Time for Real)
The justices grant certiorari before judgment in one of the two cases challenging the Trump Administration's attempt to narrow birthright citizenship via executive order.
My New Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
We can make housing more affordable and empower people to "vote with their feet" by curbing exclusionary zoning. Left and right should support that instead of counterproductive snake oil like rent control, tariffs, and deportations.
A Deadly Attack Sparks Broad Punishment for Innocent Afghans
The administration is using an isolated act of violence to justify sweeping crackdowns on refugees and wartime allies who were already thoroughly vetted.
Federal Judge Confirms What We Already Knew: DHS Is Breaking Its Own Rules in D.C. Immigration Arrests
United States District Judge Beryl A. Howell said the Department of Homeland Security’s own statements about its policy and practice reveal an “abandonment of the probable cause standard.”
The Dell-Trump Alliance
Plus: Casino revenue, another Heritage scandal, and more...
The History of This Word Reflects the Rise of Anti-Immigrant Politics
"Remigration" is meant to soften the real policy goal—forced removal.
The Horseshoe of Doom: Populists Left and Right Say America Is Failing. The Facts Don't.
When voters believe they're living through an economic apocalypse, they're willing to embrace the very policies that would create one.
The Trump Admin Wants Western Union and MoneyGram To Report on Immigrants
An obscure bureau of the U.S. Treasury is using USA PATRIOT Act powers to sniff out under-the-table employment.
