03.15.2025
Overwhelmed by the week that was? Catch up on the immigration beat in a few minutes with this handy guide
If you’re like me, you’re having a tough time keeping up with all of the news that’s out there. Even if you care passionately and personally about a subject like immigration, as I do, this week delivered some body blows.
Whole families are getting deported now. Kids with brain cancer, too. Detention centers are full. And do I even have to mention tariffs on wine, angry Canadians and a stomach-turning stock market?
If you’ve read even this far, congratulations. Because it’s a sorry mess out there, and the last thing I want to do is make you endure more of it than you can mentally stand.
So here’s the deal: This week’s wrap is a triage, chunked in a way I hope will meet the moment. If you have thirty of those moments, go ahead and spend them on a few in-depth stories below that are well worth reading. If you have fewer moments, consume what you can.
In times of crisis, I think that just keeping up with the news counts as a civic duty. Reading, listening, thinking as deeply as possible what’s happening and to whom. In a word, caring.
If you like, take a step further and subscribe to the newsroom that produced one of the stories you see below. Even if you can’t always keep up with what’s happening out there, you can support the journalists who do.
You have 30 minutes: Intriguing, in-depth stories you may have missed
How hard will Trump's immigration raids hit red states? - POLITICO (8.11 minutes)
The new economics of immigration - ECONOMIST (4.2 minutes)
How Should AI Be Used in Immigration? Cautiously, Experts Say - FORDHAM NEWS (4 min.)
Trump’s USCIS Pick Has Track Record of Tough Immigration Vetting - BLOOMBERG LAW (3.7 min)
ICE Isn’t Delivering the Mass Deportation Trump Wants - THE ATLANTIC (9.1 min.)
Fifteen minutes: The Mahmoud Khalil case turned a spotlight this week on green cards and what rights holders are entitled to (or not). Here’s more on that:
Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio decision - WASHINGTON POST (6 min.)
The Trump Administration Says This Law Allows It to Take Away Green Cards. What to Know - WALL STREET JOURNAL (3.4 min)
The History of the Green Card in the United States, U.S. Customs & Immigration archives (3.2 min).
The Alien Enemies Act, Explained (VIDEO), The Brennan Center (2 min.)
Ten minutes: Take your pick — what’s happening beyond the Beltway
Wisconsin: We surveyed all 72 Wisconsin sheriffs about their stance on immigration enforcement. Here's what they said (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL)
Adams County, Wash.: Eastern WA county accused of aiding in federal immigration enforcement (WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD)
South Bend, Ind.: Sheriff Redman gains local support council nixes immigration agents (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE)
Honolulu: Alarm Sounded Over Big Island Police Pacts With Federal Immigration Agency (HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT)
Tampa, Fla.: What to know about the ICE immigration program Florida police are signing onto (TAMPA BAY TIMES)
Eight minutes and 32 seconds: A French senator’s address on Tuesday went viral this week and for good reason: Claude Malhuret’s crisp, clear takedown of the last six weeks of the Trump presidency — delivered in a measured monotone for which French politicians are not necessarily known — sounded a surprising vote of confidence in American democracy, including the ability of ordinary citizens to fight “a jester high on ketamine charged with purging the civil service” (take that, Elon).
Watch Malhuret’s video here (a hat tip to my friend Aline, who shared it with me).