Sex Trafficking Panic and Victim Blaming Follow Atlanta Massage Parlor Murders
Rhetoric around the shootings risks putting massage workers everywhere in more danger.
Immigration
Immigration, Trade, and Narrative-Warping
Why border activity doesn't look that much different under the Biden administration, and how the media framed the Atlanta shootings
Biden Stimulus Bill Provision Targeting State Tax Cuts Might be Struck Down by Courts for Same Reasons as Trump Efforts to Pull Federal Grants From Sanctuary Cities
In both situations, the grant conditions in question were not clearly and unambiguously authorized by Congress.
Joe Biden, Border Cop
People on both the left and right assumed Biden would lift Trump’s draconian immigration restrictions. But for some hopeful immigrants, things have actually gotten worse.
When It Comes to Policy, Biden and Trump Aren't That Different
The president's approach to immigration, trade, and industry may sound familiar.
Texas Has Hundreds of Thousands of Coronavirus Carriers. The Governor Is Worried About 'Hundreds' of COVID-Positive Migrants.
Greg Abbott's fear is hard to take seriously, but it jibes with hoary stereotypes about immigrants.
Colombia Is Giving Legal Status to Migrants Fleeing Venezuela
The country just gave almost 2 million Venezuelans a pathway to citizenship.
Science-Based Policy Means Decriminalizing Sex Work, Say Hundreds of Researchers
Plus: ACLU joins fight for donor privacy, Parler drops lawsuit against Amazon, and more...
Federal Suit Seeks Damages for Men Illegally Recorded at Florida Massage Parlors, Falsely Smeared as Sex Traffickers
Two women still face felony charges, though the cases against all male defendants were dropped.
Biden Revokes Trump's Coronavirus Immigration Bans [Updated with a correction]
This action brings to an end a period when the US was more closed off to legal immigration than at any other time in the nation's history.
Kind Stranger Places Roses on Car Windshields, Cops Assume It's a Sex Trafficking Thing
"Was this something heinous or was it something of a lesser nature, was it completely harmless?"
Bill de Blasio: 1 Mask Good, 2 Masks Better
Plus: The media rechristens "kids in cages" as "migrant facilities for children," Matt Taibbi on cable providers potentially dropping Fox and Newsmax, and more...
Biden Administration Revokes Trump Changes to Citizenship Test for Immigrants
The previous administration had made some reasonable changes, but also introduced questions based on factual errors and questionable normative assumptions smuggled in under the guise of factual knowledge.
Joe Biden Offers Bold Talk, Timid Action on Immigration
He campaigned against Trump’s restrictionism, but has implemented mostly symbolic initiatives so far.
Biden's Immigration Plan: The Good, the Bad, and the Unclear
Plus: Legal cannabis workers now outnumber electrical engineers in the U.S., Portland cops defend dumpsters from hungry people, and more...
Romney and Cotton Want to Punish Businesses With Minimum Wage Hike and More Immigration Paperwork
Leading Republicans continue to find dubious areas of agreement with Democrats.
The Future of the Latino Vote, If There Is Such a Thing
An overreliance on identity politics may drive these voters away from the Democratic Party.
Biden Is Still Separating Families at the Border. Where Is the Media Outrage?
While the administration symbolically ended Trump's "zero tolerance" approach, it has not put an end to family separations outright.
America Will Welcome More Refugees as Biden Lifts Trump's Misguided Restrictions
The United States will accept 125,000 refugees in the fiscal year that begins on October 1, up from the current record low level of 15,000 set by the Trump administration.
Supreme Court Removes Border Wall Case From its Oral Argument Calendar
The move likely signals the end of the border wall litigation.
In a Year of Wild Conspiracy Theories, Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Is a Classic
Plus: A reminder that censorship backfires, Wyoming city considers ban on "performance prostitution," and more...
Biden Says His Immigration Policy Will Be Better Than Obama's
President Barack Obama's government deported more people than any other administration in history.
My New USA Today op ed on Biden's Impressively Far-Reaching Pro-Immigration Agenda
It goes far beyond merely reversing awful Trump policies, but does still have some drawbacks.
Little Green Men Caught in Red Tape
When a metal monolith was discovered in the desert, all federal officials could see was a zoning violation.
Cops Must Destroy Illegal Surveillance Videos From Spa Visited by Robert Kraft
Authorities "shall destroy the videos unlawfully obtained through the surveillance of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa," a federal judge says.
My New Article on "Freedom Through Foot Voting"
The article adapts and expands some of the ideas developed in my recent book "Free to Move," and is now available for free download on SSRN.
Joe Biden Doesn't Want to Be Another 'Deporter in Chief'
The new president issued a 100-day moratorium on deportations.
New U.K. Visa Scheme Would Allow 5.4 Million People To Escape Hong Kong
President Biden should also provide refuge for democracy lovers who want to escape authoritarian Chinese rule.
Biden Issues At Least 15 Executive Orders and Actions on Day One
Plus: Columbia University neuroscientist defends heroin use, Cuomo plan would still criminalize growing or delivering marijuana, and more...
The End of Trump's Travel Bans
On his first day as president, Biden will end both of Trump's travel ban policies. It's a big step in the right direction, though more remains to be done.
Trump's Immigration Policy Was Brutal and Inhumane. Will Biden Fix It?
Obama was also no immigration hero.
D.C. Circuit (Sadly) Affirms District Court in Hoda Muthana Case
Judge Rao writes an opinion rejecting all claims in equity, among other things
It's Time To Fix Green Card Quotas
Current law caps the number of employment-based green cards that can be granted each year at 40,000, which doesn't meet demand.
Nationalists, not Immigrants, are the Real Threat to Liberal Democratic Institutions
It is often argued that we need to restrict immigration in order to protect democratic institutions. But ethno-nationalist immigration restrictionists are a much bigger threat to those institutions than immigrants.
Congress Overrides Trump Veto of Defense Bill that Includes Tight Constraints on Use of "Emergency" Powers to Divert Military Construction Funds to the Border Wall and Other Projects
This would prevent repetition of some of the shenanigans Trump has used to divert funds for his border wall project.
Foot Voting isn't Just About Pursuing Narrow Economic Self-Interest
My response to a badly inaccurate review of my book that portrays me as claiming otherwise.
How Biden Can Terminate Trump's Border Wall Project - And Save Money and Protect Property Rights in the Process
Joe Biden can easily stop further work on the wall, protect property owners against further takings of private property, and save money in the process. Additional steps may be tougher, but are still worth considering.
Ted Cruz's Terrible Case for Keeping out Hong Kong Refugees
His rationale is both weak and would have justified keeping out his own father - a refugee from Cuba.
ICE Deports Guinean Immigrant Before He Can Testify in Jail Abuse Lawsuit
Mory Keita was involved in two cases against the government, including an ACLU suit challenging ICE and a case alleging abuse by Butler County Jail guards.
Ted Cruz, Chinese Communist Party Agree: Keep Hongkongers Trapped in China
Cruz not only dimmed America's status as a bastion of freedom for the world's oppressed people, but spat upon his own heritage as the son of a political refugee.
How Immigrants Make America Great Again (and Again and Again)
A new book documents that newcomers revitalize beliefs in hard work, property rights, and the rule of law.
Trump Must Actually Exclude Undocumented Immigrants From the Census Before He Can Be Sued for Doing That, SCOTUS Rules
The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to Trump's plans for being "premature" until the administration actually does what it says it plans to do.
Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Plan to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants from Congressional Apportionment Counts - But the Case Could Soon Come Back
The case was dismissed on procedural grounds that will change when and if the administration actually decides which people will be excluded.
Alex Nowrasteh and Benjamin Powell: Immigrants Revitalize Faith in American Institutions
A new book, Wretched Refuse?, documents that newcomers not only increase economic activity but often revitalize faith in free market, limited-government institutions.
Pornhub Isn't the Problem. That Won't Stop the Politicized Crusade Against It.
The case against the popular pornography site rests on misleading data and hidden agendas.
My New "Regulatory Review" Article on How Immigration Restrictions Harm US Citizens
Would-be migrants are not the only victims of immigration restrictions. Natives also suffer in a wide variety of ways.
