Partisan Border Wars

Plus: A listener asks the editors about the Constitution and trains.

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Partisan Border Wars

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In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman scrutinize President Joe Biden's executive order updating asylum restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border in response to illegal border crossings.

01:32—Biden's new asylum restrictions

21:38—The prosecution of political opponents: former President Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, and Steve Bannon

33:25—Weekly Listener Question

39:56—No one is reading The Washington Post

48:09—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Biden Announces Sweeping Asylum Restrictions at U.S.-Mexico Border" by Fiona Harrigan

"Biden's New Asylum Policy is Both Harmful and Illegal" by Ilya Somin

"Travel Ban, Redux" by Josh Blackman

"Immigration Fueled America's Stunning Cricket Upset Over Pakistan" by Eric Boehm

"Libertarian Candidate Chase Oliver Wants To Bring Back 'Ellis Island Style' Immigration Processing" by Fiona Harrigan

"Donald Trump and Hunter Biden Face the Illogical Consequences of an Arbitrary Gun Law" by Jacob Sullum

"Hunter Biden's Trial Highlights a Widely Flouted, Haphazardly Enforced, and Constitutionally Dubious Gun Law" by Jacob Sullum

"Hunter Biden's Multiplying Charges Exemplify a Profound Threat to Trial by Jury" by Jacob Sullum

"The Conviction Effect" by Liz Wolfe

"Laurence Tribe Bizarrely Claims Trump Won the 2016 Election by Falsifying Business Records in 2017" by Jacob Sullum

"A Jumble of Legal Theories Failed To Give Trump 'Fair Notice' of the New York Charges Against Him" by Jacob Sullum

"Does Donald Trump's Conviction in New York Make Us Banana Republicans?" by J.D. Tuccille

"The Myth of the Federal Private Nondelegation Doctrine, Part 1" by Sasha Volokh

"Federal Court Condemns Congress for Giving Unconstitutional Regulatory Powers to Amtrak" by Damon Root

"Make Amtrak Safer and Privatize It" by Ira Stoll

"Biden Threatens To Veto GOP Spending Bill That Would 'Cut' Amtrak Funding to Double Pre-Pandemic Levels" by Christian Britschgi

"This Company Is Running a High-Speed Train in Florida—Without Subsidies" by Natalie Dowzicky

"Do Not Under Any Circumstances Nationalize Greyhound" by Christian Britschgi

"With Ride or Die, the Bad Boys Movies Become Referendums on Masculinity" by Peter Suderman

"D.C. Water Spent Nearly $4,000 On Its Wendy the Water Drop Mascot" by Christian Britschgi

Upcoming Reason Events:

Reason Speakeasy: Corey DeAngelis on June 11 in New York City

Send your questions to [e-mail]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsor:

• We all carry around different stressors—big and small. When we keep them bottled up, it can start to affect us negatively. Therapy is a safe space to get things off your chest—and to figure out how to work through whatever's weighing you down. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online. Designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and switch therapists any time for no additional charge. Get it off your chest, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/roundtable today to get 10 percent off your first month.

Audio production by Justin Zuckerman and John Carter

Assistant production by Luke Allen and Hunt Beaty

Music: "Angeline" by The Brothers Steve

• Producer: Hunt Beaty
• Video Editor: César Báez

What are we consuming this week?

Nick Gillespie

• Flipside

Peter Suderman

• Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Capital Pride Parade

Matt Welch

• The Number Ones: Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” by Tom Breihan

---

Comments

[Chumby]

Chairman of the Bored

[DuaneMaxwell-HillWozniel]

Would you like some making fuck?

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

$25/yr to post this?

[Zeb]

Is anyone paying that?

[AT]

Hi Norm, how's Heaven?

[Chumby]

You wouldn’t believe the number of midget hookers up here. When Biden gets here, you know, probably soon, if he’s not wearing glasses he might think they are kids. Because, you know, he likes little children!

[Bill Falcon]

The real question is why do those who champion diversity, inclusion and equity suddenly ignore it once they become a majority and fall back on "merit" for decisions? Just asking US women's bball Olympic Committee? Or the WNBA? Very very strange. Sounds like DIE is being ignored?

[Rick James]

21:38—The prosecution of political opponents: former President Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, and Steve Bannon

One of these three isn't a "political opponent".

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Read back up on the Bannon farce. He was called by Congress to testify. Both him and Trump claimed executive immunity. Since Trump had it tends to go to a court to decide immunity. A few months later Trump withdrew immunity at which point Bannon agreed to speak to Congress. Congress sent contempt charges instead despite the immunity disagreement at the time.

So the only time DoJ pursues contempt charges tends to be against conservatives.

[SRG2]

So the only time DoJ pursues contempt charges tends to be against conservatives.

Though mostly they decline to pursue contempt charges against conservatives as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress#Partial_list_contempt_resolutions_since_1975

[damikesc]

"Mostly" ain't "all".

For progressives, it tends to be all.

[LIBtranslator]

POOOOR BAAAAAAAAYBEEEEZ!

[mad.casual]

One of these three isn’t a “political opponent”.

You’re conceptualizing it from a white supremacist, democratic, Left vs. Right, letter of the law, 'equality before the law' sensibility or viewpoint.

I know it might be hard to imagine that Reason might hold and present this mentality so obliviously, but it makes more sense if you view it from a “Who do those uppity colonists think they are asserting subjects have the same rights as the Crown?”/”filthy populists as political enemy of their noble leaders” sensibility.

Then, the matter of arresting someone for de facto committing a crime while peasants are in prison for committing the same crime becomes as nebulous and political as novel legal constructions and violation of whimsical royal decree.

[Nobartium]

A listener asks the editors about the Constitution and trains.

What about them?

They aren't mentioned, so what is there to say?

[KARtikeya]

That really threw the podcast off the rails

[Don't look at me!]

Couldn’t tie them down.

[Jerry B.]

“39:56—No one is reading The Washington Post”

The far left Progressives and the antisemites read it, based on the comments on anything even vaguely political.

Stories about storm damage in the South or Midwest bring out the “They’re MAGA and deserve it” comments, even if the storms hit mostly minorities. Apparently, Progressives aren’t capable of checking the demographics of where the storms hit.

Comments on story about Gaza are full of antisemitism, disguised as condemnation of Israel.

And, of course, the Post’s articles are designed to feed both.

[Stuck in California]

You think those comments are organic?

I know some of them are, but that comment section (And lots of others) are very heavily curated by some of our favorite fifty cent armies. You can see it, the Act Blue talking point, the next comment precisely responding "Exactly! And..." the next talking point, then the next post doing the same thing.

We have our 50 centers here, though Reason isn't so heavily trafficked a forum. But a place like WaPo, that has a sympathetic audience and that will never edit or ban the posters (or, possibly, encourage them) is going to be chock full of that shit. It discourages anyone with dissenting views, creating a heckler's veto almost literally. And it makes it seem to people leaning that way that their opinion is way more mainstream than it already is. Anything to derail the real, honest discussion.

[Medulla Oblongata]

"I want asylum!"

"Why did you come to the United States?"

"Work. For money to send to family."

"Application denied. Next!"

8 U.S. Code § 1158 - Asylum

(a)Authority to apply for asylum
(1)In general
Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title.

(2)Exceptions
(A)Safe third country
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien if the Attorney General determines that the alien may be removed, pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement, to a country (other than the country of the alien’s nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, the country of the alien’s last habitual residence) in which the alien’s life or freedom would not be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and where the alien would have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection, unless the Attorney General finds that it is in the public interest for the alien to receive asylum in the United States.

(b)Conditions for granting asylum

(B)Burden of proof
(i)In general
The burden of proof is on the applicant to establish that the applicant is a refugee, within the meaning of section 1101(a)(42)(A) of this title. To establish that the applicant is a refugee within the meaning of such section, the applicant must establish that race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion was or will be at least one central reason for persecuting the applicant.

(iii)Credibility determination
Considering the totality of the circumstances, and all relevant factors, a trier of fact may base a credibility determination on the demeanor, candor, or responsiveness of the applicant or witness, the inherent plausibility of the applicant’s or witness’s account, the consistency between the applicant’s or witness’s written and oral statements (whenever made and whether or not under oath, and considering the circumstances under which the statements were made), the internal consistency of each such statement, the consistency of such statements with other evidence of record (including the reports of the Department of State on country conditions), and any inaccuracies or falsehoods in such statements, without regard to whether an inconsistency, inaccuracy, or falsehood goes to the heart of the applicant’s claim, or any other relevant factor. There is no presumption of credibility, however, if no adverse credibility determination is explicitly made, the applicant or witness shall have a rebuttable presumption of credibility on appeal.

[mad.casual]

Still a little baffled as to how it's not:

“I want asylum!”

"You want asylum from the Mexican government?"

"No. I want asylum from [country/people other than Mexico/Mexicans]."

"And Mexico didn't grant it?"

"I didn't ask."

"Application denied. diviértase en México. Next!"

[DesigNate]

What are you, some kind of xenophobe? - you know who would say this unironically

[LIBtranslator]

This is a fact, but it is not the whole truth. The truth is that the USA declares possession of twigs or seeds a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude. This makes deportation of anyone caught with a roach in the ashtray an absolute requirement.

[TJJ2000]

Sooooo…….. Everyone acknowledges that FDR opened the Flood-Gates of a [Na]tional So[zi]alist Empire to conquer the USA (entirely illegally by the supreme law of the land) yet no one knows/?cares? precisely why today’s government is so sh*tty?

Identifying the problem usually is the best way to enact a solution.
Politics reminds me of those people who want to rebuild all of their cars because the turn-signal bulb burned out.

[Jokibif0]

Literal (not figurative) loopholes are actually holes in walls, so putting one in a ceiling is actually not that mixed a metaphor.

[Luxie]

“John Wesley Hard-On” made my stomach hurt from the laughter…. How this didn't cause all 3 laughter is beyond me (Although Katherines "What?" also added to the humour. ) That Drinkie bearded fella didn't even flinch.... This makes up for the fringe jacket wearing.

[LIBtranslator]

Prohi mystics export laws against everything but gin and cigarettes. Kid gets popped for twigs, seeds or a roach. Palito and Long Dong holler CIMT!! DEPORTEE!! Off with their hopes! Kid is sent back to U.S. ruled banana republic to join communist party (Libertarian party prohibited like plant leaves.)
But... Trump now felon. Felony Crime Involving Moral Turpentine. Que paso?

[LIBtranslator]

A physical scientist, chemist, mathematician, biologist or other usefully educated individual is welcomed as an immigrant to a free country. Prohibitionist infiltration into the U.S. government has now resulted in a situation where anyone busted for a reefer is barred from leaving the economy destroyed by prohibition laws forced on them by the DEA and SOCOM.mil and coming instead to the assistance of the USA.