Commentary & Analysis
Research and analysis on American immigration policy.
- Political Analysis·
When Immigrants Decide Elections
In 1910, immigrant blocs elected the first Socialist to Congress. Today, the US naturalizes 900,000 per year, and each 1-point rise in immigrant share adds up to 1 point in Democratic vote share.
- Political Analysis·
The Second Amendment Assumed a Citizen
Federal law bars illegal immigrants and temporary-visa holders from owning guns, and lifts the bar the moment they naturalize. The right to bear arms was written for a loyal citizenry, and mass immigration extends it before loyalty is ever established.
- Political Analysis·
Who Actually Benefits From Mass Immigration
The United States added roughly 32 million foreign-born residents since 1990. The gains concentrated among employers, high-immigration metros, and the political class, while the costs fell on the workers and renters already here.
- Cultural Integration·
Diwali and Eid Go Official
The largest school district in America now closes for Diwali and for both Eids. The festivals are becoming official wherever the immigration went, from Fremont to Fort Bend to a stone village a dozen miles west of Leesburg.
- Analysis·
The 1990 Immigration Act Never Asked the Citizenship Question
Roughly 25 million immigrants have naturalized since the 1990 Immigration Act tripled admissions. The law set the numbers and left the naturalization standard at a 100-word vocabulary list.
- Cultural Integration·
Why Everyone Should Visit Dearborn, Michigan
Henry Ford's hometown is now the first Arab-majority city in the United States. To walk it is to see what an American Casablanca looks like: a city that a foreign population, language, and faith have remade in a single lifetime.
- Political Analysis·
Ro Khanna's America: A California Dream Destroyed
Santa Clara County was 82% Caucasian in 1970. It is 28% Caucasian today. The H-1B program built the workforce; chain migration built the electorate; CA-17 elects a Bernie Sanders co-chair with 68% of the vote.
- Political Analysis·
How the H-1B Visa Built Ro Khanna's District
California's 17th district is now majority foreign-born and holds the largest Indian-American population of any district on the mainland. It is the H-1B district, and it elected an H-1B-era progressive.
- Political Analysis·
How Immigration Built Today's Progressive Caucus
Roughly 25 million immigrants have naturalized since the 1990 Immigration Act. Their concentration in 20 metropolitan areas resulted in the elections of Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and many of the Progressive Caucus bench.
- Political Analysis·
The Voting Blocs That Didn't Exist Before 1990
Every Indian American, Muslim American, and Chinese American member of Congress is a Democrat. These communities barely existed before the 1990 Immigration Act. Now they hold seats that determine the House majority.
- Demographics·
How India and China Came to Dominate U.S. Immigration
In 1960, fewer than 250,000 U.S. residents traced their roots to India or China. Today the two countries account for 6.2 million foreign-born residents and 84% of all H-1B visas - almost entirely the result of the 1990 Immigration Act, not any shared history or alliance.
- Cultural Integration·
Assimilation vs. Multiculturalism: Finding the Right Balance
Exploring different integration models and their outcomes in Western democracies, from American assimilation to European multiculturalism.