The Case for Expanding the Legal Definition of "Refugee"
The narrow definition allows governments to expel numerous migrants fleeing violence, terrorism, forced labor, and other severe oppression.
Immigration
This Political Dissident Faces Death Threats if He Goes Back to Nicaragua. Why Was His Asylum Claim Denied?
Nicaraguan government operatives threatened Mario Rajib Flores Molina with torture and imprisonment. A new court ruling has revived his pursuit of asylum in the United States.
Open the Door to Chinese Migrants Fleeing Brutal Covid Lockdowns
Taking this step is both a moral imperative, and the right way to advance US economic and strategic interests.
The 10th Anniversary of DACA
A compendium of my writings defending the morality and legality of this program - but also warning that it remains imperiled unless and until Congress passes a law institutionalizing it.
Chief Justice Roberts Explains DIG of Public Charge Case
The Supreme Court has decided not to decide an important question relating to flips in federal policy when Administrations turn over.
Biden's Summit of the Americas Was Over Before It Started
Biden's decision to exclude nondemocratic countries led to a boycott by allies.
America's Harsh Immigration Restrictions Mean Haitians Drown Trying To Get Here
Their deaths are the tragic, predictable consequence of shutting down safer migration paths.
El Salvador's Latest Gang Crackdown Includes Human Rights Violations
President Nayib Bukele is using brutal tools to solve a problem driven partly by U.S. immigration policy.
Over 45,000 Americans Have Applied To Sponsor Displaced Ukrainians
In just over a month, the Uniting for Ukraine private sponsorship program has attracted huge support.
The Somin Family's D-Day
June 6 is not only the anniversary of D-Day, but also of the Somin family's arrival in America, back in 1979. This post reprints my reflections on that milestone, which I hope remain relevant today.
Tucker Carlson's Great Replacement Theory Is Spectacularly Wrong
Republicans have thrived since Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 2.7 million mostly Mexican illegal immigrants in 1986.
A Double Standard Between Ukrainian and Afghan Refugees?
Critics allege, with some justice, that the Biden Administration is treating the former more favorably than the latter. If so, the right solution is to increase openness to Afghans and others fleeing war and repression, not bar more Ukrainians.
Court Won't Let CDC End Migrant Expulsion Order Just Yet
Plus: Book bans come for Barnes & Noble, a blow to SEC enforcement power, and more...
Strict U.S. Immigration Laws Leave Migrants Dependent on Human Smugglers
Human smugglers at Mexican border won’t be sought after if migrants can come to the U.S. legally.
"Great Replacement Theory" and the Perils of Zero-Sum World Views
The racist Buffalo mass murderer's ideology drew on dangerous ideas common on both the ethnonationalist right and the far left.
This Woman Spent 19 Years in Jail for a Murder She Didn't Commit. Now ICE Is Trying To Deport Her.
Deportation proceedings are a second layer of prosecution for people who have either served their sentences or had their convictions overturned.
Repulsive Replacement Theory and Economic Delusions
Plus: The editors each point out one key disagreement they have with one another.
Taking Formula From Immigrant Babies Won't Fix the Shortage
If you put infants in federal custody, you're obliged to feed them.
ICE Operates a Sweeping 'Dragnet Surveillance System,' New Report Finds
ICE has spent $2.8 billion since 2008 developing surveillance and facial-recognition capabilities, mostly in secrecy and without real oversight.
Strong Job Growth Isn't Enough
Despite a promising April jobs report, the U.S. is still 3 million workers short.
Ukrainians Find Refuge in Previously Unwelcoming Places
Nearly 4 million people fled Ukraine in the first month after the February 24 invasion, and thousands have left each day since.
Gov. Polis Wants You…To Be in Charge of Your Own Life
The libertarianish Colorado Democrat is devolving decision-making to parents and trying to lower the income tax to zero.
Planes, Buses, and COVID Tests: How the NHL Playoffs Are Spotlighting America's Dumb Border Rules
There's no reason to have one set of rules for airline passengers and another for people who cross the border in a bus, train, or car.
Biden Administration Takes Incremental Steps to Open Doors to Ukrainian and Russian Refugees
The new policies include private refugee sponsorship for Ukrainians, and a possible plan to facilitate visas for Russians with high-tech skills. But much more remains to be done.
Americans Can Now Sponsor Ukrainians for Temporary Refuge in the U.S.
Though the program has flaws, it’s an innovative way for private citizens to get directly involved in resettlement efforts for fleeing Ukrainians.
Biden Is Deporting Venezuelans to Colombia
"It's abundantly clear [Trump] has no regard for the suffering of the Venezuelan people," Biden said in October 2020 before engaging in many of the same practices toward asylum seekers.
Ukraine and Double Standards on Refugees
Critics are right to point out that some Western nations are treating Ukrainian refugees better than those fleeing similar horrific situations elsewhere. But the right way to address the problem is to increase openness to other refugees, not exclude Ukrainians.
Justice Gorsuch Calls for Overruling the Insular Cases
In a forceful concurring opinion, he argues the Supreme Court should overrule longstanding precedents denying many constitutional rights to residents of Puerto Rico and other "unincorporated" US territories. Gorsuch is absolutely right. But he would do well to cast the same critical gaze on the very similar precedents that exempt immigration restrictions from normal constitutional scrutiny.
France's Authoritarian Establishment Faces Off Against the Even Uglier Authoritarianism of the Far Right
French President Emmanuel Macron is authoritarian-light. Candidate Marine Le Pen is worse.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Ends His Onerous Truck Inspection Order Impeding International Commerce on the Mexican Border
The inspections caused great economic harm, and may also have violated the Dormant Foreign Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
Greg Abbott Screwed Over Truck Drivers in a Misguided Attempt to Increase Border Security
The new inspection initiative duplicated screenings that were already being carried out, irking trade officials and truckers—even those who have supported Abbott up until this point.
The Feds Wasted 66,000 Green Cards in the Middle of a Worker Shortage
The immigration bureaucracy is worsening one of the tightest labor markets in recent American history.
The U.S. Only Resettled 12 Ukrainian Refugees Last Month
The U.S. has taken in more Ukrainians through other migration pathways, but the low refugee tally shows how ill-prepared the U.S. refugee resettlement program was to help Ukrainians.
The U.K. Has a New Plan To Attract 'High Potential Individuals.' The U.S. Should Copy It.
Graduates of the world’s top universities will soon be eligible for a new multi-year visa in the U.K. that will help bolster the nation’s competitive edge.
Annual Inflation Hits 8.5 Percent, Highest Rate Since 1981
Plus: China's unsustainable COVID lockdowns, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's performative anti-immigration antics snarl supply chains, and more...
Greg Abbott Has Used Migrants as Political Pawns Again and Again. Now, He Says He'll Bus Them to Capitol Hill.
Given his track record, it isn’t surprising that Abbott would opt for a blusterous anti-migrant spectacle that comes at the expense of Texas taxpayers.
Video of American Enterprise Institute Event on my Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
It includes commentary by housing policy specialist Emily Hamilton (Mercatus Center), and economist Filipe Campante (Johns Hopkins University).
Biden Administration Will Lift Title 42 Order Used To Expel Migrants
The controversial public health order will finally meet its end after U.S. immigration officials used it to carry out 1.7 million expulsions.
Two Illiberal and Unjust Zelensky Policies the West Should Force Him to End
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is leading his nation a just cause. But we should not allow him to impose censorship and emigration bans in the process. A nation fighting for freedom must not undermine it.
Biden May End Title 42 "Public Health" Expulsions of Migrants [Updated]
The policy caused immense suffering, in exchange for meager public health benefits, if any at all. Its history undercuts the case for granting broad powers and judicial deference to the CDC.
Does the Risk of Terrorism Justify Migration Restrictions?
My essay for the German Verfassungsblog site, explains why the answer to that question is generally "no."
The U.S. Should Welcome Russians Who Don't Want To Fight Putin's War
Immigration policy has been used as a non-martial weapon of war before. Let’s do it again.
The Case for Opening Our Doors to Russians Fleeing Putin - as Well as Ukrainians
Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell explains how it can benefit the US economy while "draining Putin's brain."
My New Article on "Nondelegation Limits on COVID Emergency Powers: Lessons from the Eviction Moratorium and Title 42 Cases"
The eviction moratorium and Title 42 "public health" expulsion cases have many parallels that may have been ignored because of their differing ideological valence. Both strengthen the case for nondeferential judicial review of the exercise of emergency powers.
US and Canada Expand Admission of Ukrainian Refugees
But bureaucratic obstacles and other constraints might reduce the effectiveness of these policies. More needs to be done to open the door to Ukrainian refugees, and also to Russians fleeing Vladimir Putin's increasingly oppressive regime.
U.S. Plans To Welcome 100,000 Fleeing Ukrainians
Officials must ensure that America's lethargic refugee processing and lengthy family-based visa backlogs can effectively handle the people they seek to help.
CDC To Stop Using COVID as Excuse To Expel Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors
There are no public health gains from booting kids out of the country.
