How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
Deportation
5 Things You Should Know About the Latest Bari Weiss 60 Minutes Controversy
Is Bari Weiss censoring 60 Minutes or improving its output?
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Dell-Trump Alliance
Plus: Casino revenue, another Heritage scandal, and more...
Another Afghan Ally Detained Despite Legal Status
Mohammad Ali Dadfar survived the Taliban, the Darién Gap, and a monthslong journey to the U.S. only to be jailed by ICE while his asylum case is still pending.
Federal Agents Can Continue To Use Riot Control Weapons in Chicago With Limited Oversight Amid Pending Appeal
The ruling comes as federal immigration agents leave Chicago for operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans.
79-Year-Old World War II Refugee Remains in ICE Custody After Living in the U.S. for Over 70 Years
Born to Polish parents in a German refugee camp, Paul John Bojerski’s immigration case highlights the complexities and impracticalities of mass deportations.
Don't Send Cubans and Venezuelans Back To Suffer Under Communism
Despite Trump promising to stand "with the good people of Cuba and Venezuela," his administration has fast-tracked deportations for victims of communism.
ICE Arrests Afghan Asylum Seeker With Brain Cancer After He Asks for Directions
He had a valid work permit and a pending asylum claim, but Ihsanullah Garay was still detained. He now faces deportation while battling brain cancer.
Can the ACLU Serve Progressives, Libertarians, and Conservatives?
ACLU legal director Ben Wizner warns that Donald Trump’s war on dissent endangers the First Amendment, urges Americans to protect speech they dislike, and reflects on Edward Snowden’s enduring legacy.
My New Paper on "How Speech-Based Immigration Restrictions Threaten Academic Freedom"
It is forthcoming in Academic Freedom in the Era of Trump, (Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone, eds., Oxford University Press).
What's Really at Stake in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case?
From pretrial detention to the threat of foreign rendition, the Abrego Garcia case shows how political prosecutions and coercive plea deals have eroded the promise of a fair trial.
Fifth Circuit Will Rehear Alien Enemies Act Case En Banc
It will review a panel decision holding that Trump could not invoke this sweeping wartime authority by claiming illegal migration and drug smuggling qualify as an "invasion."
Trump Has a Habit of Asserting Broad, Unreviewable Authority
Whether he is waging the drug war, imposing tariffs, deporting alleged gang members, or fighting crime, the president thinks he can do "anything I want to do."
Hyundai Raid Shows Trump Can't Deport His Way To a Manufacturing Boom
Trump's mass deportation policies are undermining his manufacturing agenda.
My New Boston Globe Article Making Case for Abolishing ICE and Giving the Money to State and Local Police
It builds on an earlier piece in The Hill
The 5th Circuit Rejects Trump's Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act
The appeals court blocked the removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members under that law "because we find no invasion or predatory incursion."
Why Is Trump's Border Patrol Arresting Firefighters During a Wildfire?
Trump has promised to go after illegal immigrants "committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans." His record consistently says otherwise.
Chicago Next for National Guard?
Plus: Zohran can't benchpress, Powell speech doesn't exactly soothe markets, Waymo approved for NYC, and more...
ICE's Tricked-Out Trucks Might Boost Recruitment, but They Won't Make America Any Safer
The agency has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on custom SUVs, trucks, and recruitment ads.
Trump's Deportation Goals
Plus: Elites in the media, revoking security clearances, car prices going up, and more...
Trump Administration Sued for Violating Foreign Students' Free Speech Rights
The First Amendment protects everybody from the government, whether citizen or not.
Flickers of Hope for Afghans Caught in Legal Limbo
A federal court clears the way for a broader legal challenge to Trump’s refugee policies, even as Afghans in the U.S. face detention, expired protections, and rising fears of deportation.
A First Amendment Lawsuit Highlights the Chilling Impact of Speech-Based Deportation on Student Journalists
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is seeking an injunction that would protect noncitizens at The Stanford Daily from arrest and removal because of their published work.
Wife of Marine Corps Veteran Released After 2 Months in ICE Detention
Paola Clouatre had no previous convictions and was detained immediately following a green card interview.
Two Cases That Demonstrate the Incoherence of Trump's Immigration Policy
The Trump administration cut a deal with Venezuela to return a triple murderer to American shores while it tries to deport someone accused of much less.
Trump Administration Plans To Spend $1.26 Billion on an Immigrant Detention Center in Texas
The latest detention facility will house up to 5,000 detainees and function as a central hub for deportation operations.
Defending Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy, the Trump Administration Says 'No Such Policy Exists'
The government's gaslighting strategy suggests that federal officials are not confident about the constitutionality of punishing students for expressing anti-Israel views.
Judicial Nominee Emil Bove Can't Recall Whether He Said the DOJ Might Say 'Fuck You' To Court Orders
The alleged incident goes to the heart of the objections raised by critics who worry about Bove's respect for the rule of law.
Afghan Allies Under Pressure to Self-Deport: Voices from Camp As Sayliyah
"We have no criticism of the U.S. government—on the contrary, we are truly thankful. However, we are deeply afraid of the possibility of being returned to Afghanistan."
A Compelling Defense of Immigration Parole Programs
My Cato Institute colleague David Bier presented it in testimony before a congressional committee.
The Original Alcatraz Closed for Costing Too Much. Alligator Alcatraz Should Too.
Florida’s elected officials should learn from the original facility that inspired the state’s newest immigrant detention center's name, and change course before it’s too late.
Federal Court Rules Against Racial Profiling in "Roving" Immigration Enforcement Raids
Racial profiling is a longstanding problem, exacerbated by Trump Administration deportation policies.
The Department of Homeland Security Says Trump's Immigration Enforcers Are on a Mission From God
A DHS video lionizing Customs and Border Protection quotes the Bible and includes a song promising that "God's gonna cut you down."
The Trump Administration Says Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy 'Does Not Exist'
The government’s lawyers also say that supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment.
Trump Reiterates His Promise To Protect Farm and Hospitality Workers From 'Pretty Vicious' Deportation
The president is torn between the economic concerns of his supporters and the demands of immigration hardliners.
There's No Good Reason for Cities and States To Build or Subsidize Sports Stadiums
“There's no such thing as a free stadium,” says J.C. Bradbury. “You can't just pull revenue out of thin air.”
A Broad Ruling Against Trump's Immigration Policies Illustrates Alternatives to Universal Injunctions
Class actions and Administrative Procedure Act claims can achieve much the same result as the nationwide orders that the Supreme Court rejected.
The Everglades Jetport Was Supposed To Be a World Wonder. Now It's 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
Our dreams have fallen from supersonic world travel to jailing migrants who've hurt no one.
Florida Plans To Deputize 9 National Guardsmen as Immigration Judges To Increase Deportations
Legal experts are concerned that immigration judges with only six weeks of training will not uphold constitutional protections for migrants.
Trump Visits $450 Million 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Suggests Taxpayers Should Fund More of Them
Only eight days after construction began, Florida’s new immigration detention center in the Everglades is set to officially open this week.
Trump Says the Courts Have No Business Questioning His Dubious Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is considering whether the president properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members.
