D.C. Sex Workers Want Decriminalization—and City Council Members Agree
'We know what we want to do with our bodies, and we don't need government interference.'
Immigration
Federal Judge Dismisses House of Representatives Border Wall Lawsuit for Lack of Standing
The decision does not reach the merits of President Trump's attempt to divert military funds to build his border wall.
Where Should Libertarians Stand During the Conservative Circular Firing Squad?
Pondering the right-commentariat's populist-nationalist vs. classical liberal split, on the latest Reason Podcast
After Virginia Beach Shooting, a Quick Pivot to Squabbling About 'Silencers' and Trump's Golf Clothes
Plus: Spending bill includes pro-marijuana changes, State Department starts collecting social media accounts of visa applicants, and more...
Trump's Plan to Force Mexico to Lock In its Own People
The President's effort to coerce Mexico into blocking the emigration of its own people undermines the distinction between keeping people out and locking them in. It thereby makes US immigration policy analogous to the Berlin Wall.
Sharing Food with Migrants Is a Charitable Act To be Praised, Not Criminalized
Americans have long provided migrants with food and water. Why are we now treating that like a crime?
Census Citizenship Question Pushed for by GOP Gerrymanderer
And that whole Voting Rights Act justification? Kinda the opposite, actually.
Beto O'Rourke Wants To Overhaul Our Asylum System and Provide Amnesty for 11 Million Immigrants
The presidential hopeful released his immigration plan on Wednesday.
Are Democrats an Anti-Immigrant Party Too?
Recent articles by Tyler Cowen and Farhad Manjoo highlight anti-immigrant effects of many Democrats' policies on zoning and other issues. The party is not quite as bad as the Republicans. But that's damning with faint praise.
Federal Court Rules Trump Cannot Use Defense Funds to Build Border Wall
The first court decision on Trump's plan to reallocate federal funds to "build the wall" goes against the administration.
Colorado's Growing Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement
What happens when cities and counties have their own ideas about a law that authorizes the seizure of guns from people who are mentally ill?
Trump's Immigration Plan Could Use Some Work
Still, it's better than the administration's previous proposals to cut legal immigration in half.
Xenophobia and Pseudoscience Shaped U.S. Immigration Policy
Historian Daniel Okrent looks back at the bigoted "intellectual justification" for anti-immigration policies.
Border Patrol Agent on Trial for Hitting Border Crosser With His Truck Called Immigrants 'Disgusting Subhuman Shit' in Texts
Matthew Bowen hit a man who crossed the border. Then he sent a text calling him a "human pit maneuver."
The Democrats' Dumb War Against Charter Schools
The latest bad idea from Bernie Sanders is depressingly popular, sayeth the podcast crew.
Trump's One-Sided War Against New York's Political Elite
Bill de Blasio's coming humiliation is just the latest evidence of the outer-borough president's revenge on Manhattan.
A Texas City Attorney Was Arrested and Detained for Helping Three Young Migrants on the Side of the Road
One of the migrants was gravely ill.
The Heartbreaking, Lifesaving Practice of Welcoming 'Unaccompanied' Child Migrants
A history lesson for Americans
Today's Anti-Immigration Script Was Written 100 Years Ago by America's Elite
Historian Daniel Okrent's new book, The Guarded Gate, recounts the history of bigotry, eugenics, and the "intellectual justification" of anti-immigration policies.
Trump Unveils Plan To Promote Skill-Based Immigration
But even that's a bridge too far for immigration restrictionists.
The Sex Trafficking Panic
"The victims are the sex workers…getting harassed and locked up in cages by the cops."
Stossel: Moral Panic Over Sex Work
Police often accuse people of "sex trafficking." Usually, it’s simply prostitution.
Migrant Arrests by U.S. Border Patrol Were 'Off the Charts' in April
Plus: Protests against prostitution-loitering laws in NYC, Denver mushroom measure passes, misinformation about Section 230, and more...
Florida Is Creating a New Sex Offender Registry Just for Prostitution Customers
The bill also targets strip clubs
White House Increases Temporary Work Visas; Proposes Keeping Immigration Flat
Restrictionist allies seethe as Jared Kushner's reform plan fails to reduce overall numbers.
Massage Parlor Surveillance Videos Can't Be Used in Court, Says Florida Judge
Plus: the biggest trouble with Devin Nunes' Twitter lawsuit, the Senate fails to override Trump's Yemen veto, bad news for the gig economy, and more...
Trump Administration Asks Congress for $4.5 Billion To Spend on Border 'Crisis'
It's not clear if congressional Democrats will comply.
Foot-Voting Nation
My new book chapter is now available for free on SSRN. It desccribes how "voting with your feet" played a central role in American history, how foot voting is at the heart of much of the nation's success, and the recent rise of dangerous new obstacles to foot-voting. Part of a new book, "Our American Story: The Search for a National Narrative."
To Discourage Migration, Trump Orders Asylum Seekers Pay Fees to Apply
The plan is likely to backfire and cause more illegal border crossings by the people most desperately in need.
Jared Kushner Makes the Case for Merit-Based Immigration
He says his plan will prioritize highly skilled immigrants and will "maintain our country's humanitarian values."
Are Gun-Toting Border Vigilantes So Different from the Border Patrol?
Outraged by that video of freelance border guards detaining migrant families? Wait til you find out what the official border cops have been up to...
We Won't Make America Great Again by Scaring Off Foreign College Students
Donald Trump's restrictionist immigration policies are making U.S. universities less exceptional.
Sanctuary Cities Should Hope That Stephen Miller Makes Good on His Threats
They should offer to pay for the transportation of asylum seekers.
Foggy Sex Trafficking Stats Pop Up in the Bay Area
Did San Francisco really see a 170 percent "spike in human trafficking" last year?
Harvey Weinstein Is Terrible. Calling Him a Sex Trafficker Is Absurd
Nonetheless, a judge will let a sex trafficking complaint against Weinstein proceed.
New Federal Immigration Guidance Says Stoners Lack 'Good Moral Character'
A policy alert from the USCIS agency clarifies that smoking weed, even in states that've legalized it, can still be grounds for denying citizenship applications.
California's Sanctuary Laws Survive Another Trump Challenge
Federal judges rule state cannot be forced to assist immigration officials.
Federal Appellate Court Rules Against Trump Administration on Most Issues in California "Sanctuary State" Case
The ruling, written by a Republican-appointed judge, is an important victory for federalism.
United States v. Eguilos and Denaturalization
George H.W. Bush appointee denounces second-class citizenship, cites to my work with Cassandra Robertson
Barr Kicks Off the Next Big Fight Over Immigration: Reason Roundup
Plus: Trump shows true colors on Yemen, U.K. sets a date for new porn rules, and scientists say we may be in a new geological epoch.
His Wife Was Killed in Afghanistan. Then ICE Showed Up To Deport Him.
He's back in the U.S., though he's not out of the woods yet.
Republican Senators Introduce Bill To Cut Legal Immigration in Half
The RAISE Act would strongly prioritize high-skilled immigrants.
The Feds' Special Opioid Task Force Spent 8 Days Harassing Arizonans, Found 0.2 Grams of Heroin
They made 50 arrests, but almost all were for immigration offenses.
Steve Bannon's 'Economic Nationalism' vs. Libertarian Globalism Is the Battleground of 21st Century Politics
The Brink, a documentary about the former Trump adviser, delivers an interesting insight.
Watch Matt Welch (and Dave Barry!) Tonight on Real Time With Bill Maher
Live on HBO, 10 p.m. ET!
Of Course the Country Isn't Full — and Trump Knows It
America desperately needs more immigrants to support its economy.
Multiple Sex-Trafficking Charges Against Allison Mack to be Dropped As Actress Pleads to Extortion
Plus: "content moderation laws are...not about punishing tech companies" and union fees have taken an astonishing hit.
Homeland Security Can't Force Asylum Seekers to Wait in Mexico, Judge Rules
Nothing in the ruling prohibits the U.S. from detaining would-be asylum-seekers until they can be granted a court hearing.
