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Xenophobia

Anti-immigrant propaganda | Illustration: The Department of Homeland Security

Immigration

A Brief History of American Propaganda Against 'Foreign Invaders'

The Department of Homeland Security's recent campaign is just the latest chapter.

Autumn Billings | 6.18.2025 12:06 PM

Reason logo and LA Press Club logo | lllustration: Eddie Marshall | Midjourney

Awards

Reason Nominated for 17 Southern California Journalism Awards

Nominees include stories on inflation breaking brains, America's first drug war, Afghans the U.S. left behind, Javier Milei, and much more.

Billy Binion | 5.14.2025 9:57 AM

newprint | vintage newspaper screenshots from Newspapers.com

History

When Yoga Sparked a Sex Panic

"Hindu mystics" with "swarthy faces and dreamy-looking eyes" once had Uncle Sam in a tizzy.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 2.19.2025 11:30 AM

Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance at a Faith and Freedom Coalition dinner near Atlanta | Robin Rayne/Zuma Press/Newscom

J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance Promoted Rumors of Pet-Eating Immigrants Even After Learning They Were 'Baseless'

To justify his misinformation, the Republican vice presidential candidate cited a report from a woman whose lost cat turned up, very much alive, in her own basement.

Jacob Sullum | 9.18.2024 6:00 PM

Nick Gillespie headshot, Ryan Routh arrested | Lex Villena; MCSO/MEGA / Newscom/SLMIA/Newscom

Donald Trump

Why Do They Keep Shooting at Donald Trump?

Plus: A listener asks the editors to ponder which election was the most important one in their lifetimes.

Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman | 9.16.2024 5:44 PM

Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance speaks to reporters | Bastiaan Slabbers/Sipa USA/Newscom

Election 2024

J.D. Vance Says It Does Not Matter Whether 'Rumors' of Pet-Eating Migrants Are True

Donald Trump's running mate says he is willing to "create stories" if they help call attention to the costs of lax immigration policies.

Jacob Sullum | 9.15.2024 9:50 PM

The Best of Reason Magazine logo | Joanna Andreasson

War on Drugs

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."

Jacob Sullum | 4.16.2024 5:55 PM

opium | Photo: An opium den in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, in 1898; REASON 31 Strohmeyer & Wyman/Library of Congress

War on Drugs

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."

Jacob Sullum | 4.14.2024 6:00 AM

reason-doc | Lex Villena / Qinling Li

California

The Rebirth of Lowriding in California

Golden State municipalities are finally overturning their anti-cruising ordinances.

Qinling Li and Arthur Nazaryan | 6.27.2023 9:30 AM

TOPICSWORLD | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson Source image: CatLane/iStock

Housing Policy

Blame Regulations, Not Foreign Buyers, for High Housing Costs

Restricting foreign real estate ownership has something for both sides—conservatives don't like foreigners, and progressives don't like capital.

Christian Britschgi | 3.30.2023 6:00 AM

featuremassageparlorpanic | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson. Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari/123rf

Moral Panic

Massage Parlor Panic

A potent combination of puritanism, racism, and political opportunism is putting Asian masseuses and the people who support them in needless danger.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 2.2.2020 6:00 AM

Donald-Trump-speech-7-15-19 | YouTube

Donald Trump

Trump Tells His Critics to 'Go Back' Where They 'Came From.' His Love-It-or-Leave-It Attitude Is Totally Wrong and Arguably Racist.

Is the angry reaction to the president's incendiary comments "all about politics"?

Jacob Sullum | 7.16.2019 4:45 PM

Okrent Redo-6 | Jim Epstein

Immigration

Xenophobia and Pseudoscience Shaped U.S. Immigration Policy

Historian Daniel Okrent looks back at the bigoted "intellectual justification" for anti-immigration policies.

Nick Gillespie | 5.22.2019 3:15 PM

okrent | Meredith Bragg

Donald Trump

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.

Nick Gillespie, Ian Keyser, and Todd Krainin | 5.17.2019 3:45 PM

Large image for longform feature pages. | Ullstein/Getty Images

Democracy

Democracy in Decline?

If its recent record is any indication, Winston Churchill might have been wrong about democracy.

Loren Lomasky | 2.17.2019 6:00 AM

Large image on homepages | BSIP/Newscom

Xenophobia

Trump's Favorite 'Prayer Rug' Immigrant Story Seems Like Fake News and Shoddy Journalism

The Washington Examiner story relies on a single, anonymous source who has no evidence to support her claims. It serves only to confirm existing biases.

Eric Boehm | 1.18.2019 4:15 PM

Large image on homepages

Reasontv

The 5 Best Arguments Against Immigration—and Why They're Wrong

Nick Gillespie and Todd Krainin | 2.14.2018 11:15 AM

Large image on homepages | S. Schuetter/picture alliance / blickwinkel/S/Newscom

Food Policy

Shake Your Head at Italy's Crappy New Food Laws

Bans on drinking and eating in public and a host of other lousy rules could jeopardize Italy's culinary future.

Baylen Linnekin | 7.22.2017 8:00 AM

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