Setting Issue Priorities
How to prioritize public policy issues - and why it matters.
Immigration
Biden, the Arms Supplier
Plus: NYC whale deaths, Ann Coulter's twisted immigration views, protesters playing the victim, and more...
This Student Was Allegedly Suspended for Saying 'Illegal Aliens.' Did That Violate the First Amendment?
Christian McGhee is suing, arguing a North Carolina assistant principal infringed on his free speech rights.
Alabama's New Sex Trafficking Law Could Mean Life in Prison for Trafficking Victims
It's the war on drugs all over again, folks...
Migration and the "Military-Age Male" Fallacy
Don't fall for scaremongering about "military-age male" migrants crossing the border. They are actually less dangerous than native-born citizens of the same age and gender.
How Immigration Restrictions Reduce Housing Construction and Exacerbate Shortages
A new study shows deportation of undocumented migrants reduces housing construction by diminishing the supply of workers needed to do it.
No One Can Make Government Work
If businesses don't serve customers well, they go out of business. Government, on the other hand, is a monopoly.
Backpage: A Blueprint for Squelching Speech
How the Backpage prosecution helped create a playbook for suppressing online speech, debanking disfavored groups, and using "conspiracy" charges to imprison the government's targets
Federal Court Again Rejects Texas' Claim that Illegal Migration Qualifies as "Invasion"
The ruling builds on the same court's two prior decisions to the same effect.
Nick Gillespie: Keep America's Borders Open
"We should be building a wall around the welfare state, not the United States," Nick Gillespie argued at a recent immigration debate.
New Evidence that Making Legal Migration Easier Reduces Illegal Border Crossings
Economist Michael Clemens has the most extensive and sophisticated analysis of this issue to date.
Judge Acquits Backpage Co-Founder Michael Lacey on Most Counts
The court found insufficient evidence to sustain 53 of 84 remaining counts against Lacey.
Building on the Success of Uniting for Ukraine
A new CBS article details the successes of a program enabling Americans to sponsor Ukrainian migrants fleeing the Russian invasion to live and work in the US.
The Manufactured Crisis of Migrant Terrorists at the Border
Exaggerated threats of terrorists crossing the southern border lead to costly, disproportionate policy decisions.
Video of Federalist Society Executive Branch Review Conference Panel on "Law and Order on the Border"
I participated, along with former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, and former DHS official Sohan Dasgupta.
Democrat Life Raft?
Plus: Time to ax NPR's funding, African migrants get mad at New York City, Gavin Newsom gets smart, and more...
The Best of Reason: Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America's First Drug War
San Francisco's prohibitionists worried that opium dens were patronized by "young men and women of respectable parentage" as well as "the vicious and the depraved."
Anti-Chinese Xenophobia Fueled America's First Drug War
San Francisco's prohibitionists worried that opium dens were patronized by "young men and women of respectable parentage" as well as "the vicious and the depraved."
Walter Olson on "The Right's Bogus Claims about Noncitizen Voting Fraud"
Olson explains why the idea of widespread noncitizen voting is a myth.
How Obama Gave Trump the 'Military-Age Males' Talking Point
The same tactics used to justify drone strikes are now being used to demonize immigrant men.
Immigrants From Nice Countries
Plus: The Vatican talks gender theory, Chinese nationals react to pirated 3 Body Problem episodes, and more...
The 3 Body Problem's Chilling Social Media Parallel
From struggle sessions to cancel culture, the story depicts the terrors of surveillance authoritarianism.
Dave Smith vs. Chris Freiman: What's the Ideal Immigration Policy?
Podcast host Dave Smith and philosopher Chris Freiman debate open borders on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions.
The Immigrant Workers Who Died on the Baltimore Bridge Were Hardworking Heroes
The Key Bridge collapse highlighted the valuable contributions of immigrant workers, many of whom take on foreseeable—and, in this case, unforeseeable—risks.
Fifth Circuit Rules Against Texas SB 4 Immigration Law
In the process, the court also rejected Texas's argument that illegal migration and drug smuggling qualify as "invasion."
Supreme Court Unpersuaded
Plus: Vanderbilt activists' 911 call, Kevorkianniversary, MAID problems, and more...
My New Lawfare Article on Why "Immigration is Not Invasion"
Texas is wrong to equate illegal migration and drug smuggling with invasion. If accepted by courts, the argument would set a dangerous precedent.
Amicus Brief in United States v. Abbott Explains Why Texas is Wrong to Equate Illegal Migration and Drug Smuggling With "Invasion"
The state's position is at odds with the text and original meaning of the Constitution and would set a dangerous precedent if accepted by federal courts.
American Nightmare
Plus: Squatters, Julian Assange, teen babysitters, Hong Kong migration, and more...
Another Judge Says Illegal Immigrants Have Second Amendment Rights
Some supposed defenders of the right to bear arms react with alarm.
Texas Barred From Detaining Border-Crossers
Plus: Cuba's collapse, D.C.'s crime rate, Austin's housing market, and more...
Two Posts on Irish-American Politics and History, and its Lessons for Today
St. Patrick's Day is a good time to re-up my posts on what can be learned from the declining political significance of Irish-American identity, and whether Hispanics are following the same path of assimilation as the Irish did.
Problemista Is a Magical Realist Fable About the Absurdity of America's Immigration System
A story about a young man who just wants to legally work, if only the system would let him.
The Best of Reason: The Future of Immigration Is Privatization
New immigration pathways are letting private citizens welcome refugees and other migrants—and getting the government out of the way.
How Did Kissinger Become an American Citizen?
Reason has obtained an exclusive copy of Henry Kissinger's immigration files from the 1940s.
Students With an Undocumented Parent Still Can't Fill Out the FAFSA Form
The updated FAFSA form has been marred with technical problems, leaving many students unable to complete the financial aid form entirely.
Florida Lawmakers Vote To Raise Stripping Age to 21
Employing an 18- to 20-year-old at an adult venue could mean 15 years in prison, even if the young person used a fake ID.
Overview of the Successes and Limitations of Private Migrant Sponsorship Programs
Reason immigration writer Fiona Harrigan surveys the growth of private migrant sponsorship programs. They have had impressive successes, but still suffer from unfortunte limitations.
Mass Deportations of Immigrants Destroy More Native-Born American Jobs than they Create
Leading immigration economist Michael Clemens explains why.
The Future of Immigration Is Privatization
New immigration pathways are letting private citizens welcome refugees and other migrants—and getting the government out of the way.
Federal District Court Rules Red States Lack Standing to Challenge Legality of Immigration Parole Program for Migrants from Four Latin American Countries
The ruling allows the CNVH private sponsorship program - covering migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti to continue. But it is likely to be appealed.
Arizona Is Weighing Nonsensical New E-Verify Measures
The proposal would harm business owners, consumers, and workers without much benefit in return.
Supreme Court Tells Texas to Hold On
Plus: More reactions to the Supreme Court's other decision in the Trump ballot disqualification case, D.C.'s continued minimum wage confusion, California's primary elections, and more...
New Podcasts on Nationalism and Immigration/Border Issues
One is an interview for the new Argue with Me podcast series, and the other is part of Michael Liebowitz's Rational Egoist series.
Federal Court Rejects Texas's Argument that Illegal Migration Qualifies as "Invasion" [Updated to include link to the decision]
The ruling has the most extensive discussion of the meaning of "invasion" in the Constitution ever included in a court decision.
The Myth of the Migrant Crime Wave
The "data that exist for this year show consistent declines in major crimes in major cities."
Border Pageantry
Plus: Putin threatens nukes, D.C. mulls a crackdown on theft, Bloomberg blames right-wingers, and more...
