The History of Birthright Citizenship : Throughline Wong Kim Ark was born in the U.S. and lived his whole life here. But when he returned from a trip to China in August of 1895, officials wouldn't let him leave his ship. Citing the Chinese Exclusion Ac...

For context on today’s Birthright Citizenship case, highly recommend this Throughline Episode: www.npr.org/2025/02/06/1...

This evil-ass question has some very obvious answers even if your commitment to human rights and equality are mid

Histories of Native American Treaties and Anti-Chinese Violence Win Bancroft Prize

WOW! Congrats to @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social and Emilie Connolly!!! Sharing the Bancroft Prize for their books on anti-Chinese immigration and Native American treaty histories.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/a...

A short history of Asian immigration Hannah Postel discusses the evolution of Asian immigration to the United States.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the US. We spoke with @hpostel.bsky.social of @dukesanford.bsky.social about the history of Asian immigration and how current policy might shape immigration going forward. #econsky www.aeaweb.org/research/asi...

ICE’s Warehouse Purchases Herald New Model for Immigration Detention - American Immigration Council ICE is purchasing commercial warehouses and retrofitting them into a national network of immigration detention centers.

A sharp summary of ICE's planned detention warehouses, and how the procurement jiu-jitsu that will allow the feds to make this happen ASAP, from @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social:

Let me explain what this genuinely EVIL memo does. The admin is doubling down on its plan to arrest, detain, and interrogate tens of thousands of legally present refugees; people already vetted who’ve lived here legally for 1+ year.

Hundreds were arrested in Minnesota before a court blocked this.

Asian Immigration to the United States in Historical Perspective (Winter 2026) - Asian Americans are the fastest-growing immigrant group in the United States, yet Asian immigration remains relatively understudied in quantitative social science. This paper reviews t...

A new article in the Journal of Economic Perspectives by DUPRI Scholar @hpostel.bsky.social shows that the trajectory of Asian immigration to the United States has been uniquely and profoundly shaped by over a century of shifting federal policies.

www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

Days after Secretary Noem took office, she purported to "vacate" decisions by Secretary Mayorkas to extend TPS for Venezuela and Haiti — even though the law says repeatedly that TPS, once granted, lasts until it expires.

The 9th Circuit says she had no authority to do that.

Maybe more under-known than underrated but Snowman 🥰

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [CIS No. 2842-26; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2022-0014] RIN 1615-ZB96 Termination of the Designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is terminating the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status. The designation of Ethiopia is set to expire on December 12, 2025. After reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, the Secretary determined that Ethiopia no longer continues to meet the conditions for the designation for Temporary Protected Status. The Secretary, therefore, is terminating the Temporary Protected Status designation of Ethiopia as required by statute. This termination is effective [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. After [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER], nationals of Ethiopia (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ethiopia) who have been granted Temporary Protected Status under Ethiopia’s designation will no longer have Temporary Protected Status.

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [CIS No. 2806-25] RIN 1615-ZC12 Termination of Family Reunification Parole Processes for Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Salvadorans ACTION: Notice SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is terminating the categorical parole processes for aliens from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, and their immediate family members, under the Family Reunification Parole processes announced, or updated, by DHS in 2023 (hereinafter referred to as “modernized FRP programs”). DHS is also terminating the residual processing of legacy cases under the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program (“legacy CFRP”) and the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program (“legacy HFRP”) first implemented by USCIS in 2007 and 2014, respectively (collectively, the “legacy FRP programs”). This Federal Register notice is intended to provide context and guidance to the public regarding the termination of all nine programs (hereinafter “the FRP programs”), termination of parole for aliens paroled under the FRP programs, and revocation of employment authorization based on being an alien paroled under the FRP programs. DATES: DHS is terminating the FRP programs as of [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. The temporary parole period of aliens who have been paroled into the United States under the FRP programs, and whose initial period of parole has not already expired by [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER] will terminate on that

NEW: this morning the Trump admin moved to terminate legal status for ~20,000 people:

- Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia, in place since 2022, with ~5,000 beneficiaries
- Family Reunification Parole Programs, in place since 2023 and some legacy cases from earlier, covering ~15,000 people.

The Trump Administration Wants Immigrants to Self-Deport. It’s a Shit Show The Trump administration has been virtually begging immigrants in the US to self-deport, even offering money. But some immigrants say it’s been nearly impossible.

NEW: You've read a lot about immigrants kidnapped, forcibly detained, and held in ICE facilities -- what about the immigrants *trying* to leave the country? Turns out its wildly difficult for them too.

don't miss this from @telliotter.bsky.social:

ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.

"You Have Arrived in Hell": New Evidence Confirms Torture of Deported Venezuelans in El Salvador A new HRW report confirms what I warned about in March: Venezuelans deported to El Salvador were systematically tortured. Half had no criminal record. Many were asylum seekers. We paid for this.

"You Have Arrived in Hell": New Evidence Confirms Torture of Deported Venezuelans in El Salvador. New report confirms my warnings in March: Venezuelans deported to El Salvador were tortured. Half had no criminal record. Many were asylum seekers.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/you-have-a...

Honduras retreat 2026 😇

Border Patrol Expands North Carolina Operations to More Liberal Cities Agents are expected to be active in the Raleigh area on Tuesday, though the scope of the immigration crackdown in the state’s Research Triangle region was not immediately clear.

Federal Border Patrol agents are expected to expand their operations in North Carolina on Tuesday to include Raleigh, the state capital, local officials said. It's the latest escalation of President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, which has targeted Democratic-run cities.

When you finally get to meet your collaborator IRL @andreavelasquez.bsky.social 🫶

Trump Was Not the Only President Who Tried to Force Migrants to Leave

For decades, the United States tried to push undocumented people to self-deport. Success has often depended on coercion. I wrote a short history of the long shadow of self-deportation. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/u...

Trump's own Labor Department quietly admits his immigration crackdown risks 'supply shock-induced food shortages' and higher prices | Fortune The Labor Department's filing also admitted that Americans are not willing to replace undocumented farmworkers.

"Trump’s own Labor Department quietly admits his immigration crackdown risks ‘supply shock-induced food shortages’ and higher prices"

fortune.com/2025/10/11/t...

Thrilled to get my hands on @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social's incredible new book.

Beth is not only a brilliant scholar but also a ridiculously evocative writer and one of the most thoughtful humans I know.

Also understanding how state and local govs regulated migrant lives is kind of important 🤷‍♀️

New Immigration Enforcement Dashboard Makes Deportation Data Project Data Accessible to More People New Immigration Enforcement Dashboard makes ICE arrest data accessible through interactive visualizations, bridging the gap between complex datasets and public understanding.

New Immigration Enforcement Dashboard Makes ICE Arrest Data Accessible to More People

New dashboard makes Deportation Data Project data accessible through interactive visualizations, bridging the gap between complex datasets and public understanding.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/new-immigr...

The Ritual of Civic Apology More than a century after driving out their Chinese residents, cities across the West are saying sorry, with parks, plaques, and proclamations. But it’s seldom clear who they’re talking to—or what the...

A moving, searching essay by @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social, who has an important new book, “John Doe Chinaman.” www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...

Trump had promised to focus on rounding up immigrants with criminal records during his 2024 election campaign. Government data shows that actual ICE arrests skew heavily towards immigrants without criminal convictions.
www.ft.com/content/bba4...

A new rule-based linking method for historical Census records based on extra information, offering higher match rates and accuracy than earlier algorithms, from Abramitzky, Platt Boustan, Brookes Gray, Eriksson, Pérez, @hpostel.bsky.social‬, Rashid, and Simon https://www.nber.org/papers/w33999

😭😭😭😭😭😭

Reading over the text, one thing sticks out immediately: it is incredibly racist toward Haitians in particular. Quoting directy: "Additionally, hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration. This influx harms American communities..."

🚨🚨🚨 In the last two hours, the Trump admin:

- Banned all immigrant visas from 19 countries, including Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela
- Banned all student and researcher visas to Harvard
- Colluded with Texas to kick 20,000 undocumented college students off of in-state tuition.

😭👿🤬💔