Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
According to the most recent data, as of “July 31, 2020, USCIS had 370,948 asylum applications, on behalf of 589,187 aliens, pending final adjudication.” “Over 94% of these pending applications [about 348,691 cases] are awaiting an interview by an asylum officer.” The remaining cases–approximately 22,257–have been interviewed and are waiting for a decision. In terms … Read more
Here’s a point that should be self-evidence, but isn’t: Bureaucracy exists to facilitate the implementation of the law. Congress passes a law, and then government agencies create a system of policies and procedures to put that law into effect. In principle, this system should be easy to use and efficient, and should allow people to … Read more
The President and his allies are doing everything in their power to subvert the result of last month’s election. So far, their efforts have not changed the outcome, but we are still in a very dangerous place. Hopefully, the system and our country will withstand this unprecedented assault on democracy and the rule of law. … Read more
The debate over immigration–legal and illegal–has become more divisive and seemingly more intractable in the face of the current Administration’s hard-line policies. In a democracy, ideally, people with different views about immigration would talk to each other and reach some type of compromise solution. That is difficult with any issue, but it is particularly problematic … Read more