• Thinking-Style Differences Associated with Anti-Immigrant Conspiracy Beliefs

    People who think more analytically, rather than intuitively, are less likely to believe in the “great replacement” conspiracy. This association remained when individual differences in political ideology and education were statistically controlled in the analyses. People who think analytically also have higher ‘faith’ in science, disbelief in paranormal phenomena, and lower religiosity.

  • Body Found Stuck in Buoys Texas Installed in the Rio Grande

    By Uriel J. Garcia and William Melhado

    Texas authorities believe the person drowned upstream and floated into the buoys near Eagle Pass. Mexico criticized Texas’ placement of the buoys along the river.

  • Federal Government Is Challenging Texas Setting Up Buoys in the Rio Grande – Here’s Why These Kinds of Border Blockades Wind Up Complicating Immigration Enforcement

    By Jean Lantz Reisz

    The Rio Grande is the site of a legal battle between the U.S. federal government and the state of Texas regarding the right to enact blockades in the river. The U.S. Justice Department announced on July 24, 2023, that it filed a civil lawsuit against Texas for illegally placing a floating buoy barrier in a section of the Rio Grande that runs about 1,000 feet, or 304 meters, long.

  • DOJ Files Complaint Against Texas Over Placing Floating Buoy Barrier in the Rio Grande

    The Justice Department on Monday filed a civil complaint against the State of Texas because the state has built a floating barrier, consisting of buoys strung together, in the Rio Grande River without the federal authorization that is legally required under the Rivers and Harbors Act. 

  • The Mythical Tie Between Immigration and Crime

    By Krysten Crawford

    Opponents of immigration often argue that immigrants drive up crime rates. Research by Stanford’s Ran Abramitzky and co-authors uncovers the most extensive evidence to date that immigrants are less likely to be imprisoned than U.S.-born individuals.

  • Texas Investigating Claim that State Troopers Were Told to Push Migrants Back into the Rio Grande and Deny Them Water

    By Uriel J. García

    The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the claims, which include pushing small children and women with nursing babies back into the river and turning away a 4-year-old girl who later passed out on the riverbank from the heat.

  • The EU Border “Pushbacks” May Have Become a De Facto Migration Policy

    By Ella Joyner

     The word “pushback” has entered the EU’s lexicon along with hundreds of thousands of people who have sought asylum in the bloc since 2015. Campaigners say “pushbacks” are now so systematic, they are de facto policy.

  • Sharp Increase in Application for Asylum to EU Countries

    EU+ countries received around 996,000 asylum applications in 2022, a 53 percent increase over 2021. Around 70 percent of applications in 2022 were lodged in five receiving countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Austria, and Italy. As in previous years, the top countries of origin were Syria and Afghanistan, followed by Turkey, Venezuela and Colombia.

  • Supreme Court Rejects Texas Effort to Force Biden Administration to Change Deportation Policy

    By Uriel J. Garcia

    Texas and Louisiana sued after the Biden administration told immigration agents to focus on deporting undocumented immigrants who are convicted of felonies or pose a risk to public safety. The Supreme Court said states didn’t have any standing to sue.

  • Refugee or Asylum-Seeker in the U.S.: What's the Difference?

    By Aline Barros

    In the United States, there are notable distinctions between refugees or asylum-seekers. While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are significant differences under U.S. immigration law when pursuing these statuses. The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has established specific priorities for processing individuals and groups with special humanitarian concerns who seek entry into the United States.

  • Germany Reforms Immigration Law to Attract and Retain Skilled Workers

    By Lisa Hänel and Andrea Grunau

    From healthcare to IT, carpenters to technicians, Germany’s “help wanted” sign is blinking red. Germany has two million jobs to fill, and it needs 400,000 foreign workers to make up the shortfall every year. When the baby boomers retire en masse, the problem will only get worse. Now Germany is reforming its immigration laws to help close the gap, and bring in, and keep, foreign talent.

  • New Law Targets Gun Trafficking to Mexico

    By Masood Farivar

    A new law that imposes harsher penalties on gun trafficking is giving U.S. prosecutors a powerful tool to combat the illicit flow of weapons from the United States to drug cartels in Mexico. The cartels use the weapons to protect their drug smuggling operations, fueling an overdose epidemic that is claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.

  • U.S. Temporary Foreign Worker Visa Programs

    By Claire Klobucista and Diana Roy

    Temporary foreign workers have long supported the U.S. economy, providing American industries, such as agriculture and technology, with a critical labor force, and the United States accepts hundreds of thousands of foreign workers each year. Persistent U.S. labor shortages, accusations of abuse, an influx of undocumented immigrants, and pushback from domestic labor groups have reenergized the debate over the scale of these programs.  President Biden has expanded the capacity of some programs, including by streamlining the application process, but more ambitious efforts have stalled in Congress.

  • Where Professionals Want to Migrate within the European Union

    As a driving force of economic, demographic, social, and political change, migration is a top priority for policymakers, but studies were often hampered by incomplete statistics and outdated data. A new study assessing migration interest found that fewer professionals from countries in Northern, Southern, and Western Europe want to move east. But Eastern Europe’s appeal might change in the coming years.

  • Texas to Deploy Buoys to Deter Rio Grande Crossings, Gov. Abbott Announces

    By Zach Despart and Patrick Svitek

    The governor revealed plans for a floating river barrier at a Capitol signing ceremony for six new laws related to border security. The first 1,000-foot section will be set up near Eagle Pass.