America’s first immigration law passed in 1790. A more-or-less open borders policy lasted until the 1920s, when immigration was severely restricted. Since then, policies have become more open in some ways, and more closed in others. Immigration Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh talks about the reasons behind the major historical shifts, and suggests reforms that would make today’s immigration system fairer and less cumbersome.
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From 8:30 to 9:30 pm on Saturday, March 31, buildings in major cities around the world will go dark in observance of Earth Hour. The point is to show that modernity and the environment are incompatible. At the same time as Earth Hour, millions of people will leave their lights on to celebrate Human Achievement Hour. Michelle Minton, CEI’s Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies and also the founder of Human Achievement Hour, explains.
The Senate this week voted down a highway bill amendment that would massively financially benefit natural gas mogul T. Boone Pickens. Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis explains why the Senate did the right thing, and why Washington shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers in the energy marketplace.
A new IRS regulation hits the trifecta of enriching foreign dictators, helping them crush dissent, and would raise no revenue for the U.S. government. Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray explains. Unlike most other countries, the U.S. taxes income its citizens earn abroad. So, to encourage foreign banks to cooperate with the IRS, it is requiring U.S. banks to report to foreign countries, even dictatorships, on their citizens’ U.S. holdings. Governments can then use this information to find and punish dissenters.
Land-Use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner explains why almost nobody is happy with how this year’s highway bill is turning out. Fiscal conservatives are leery of the price tag. Earmarkers are disappointed at efforts to make the bill pork-free. Transit activists are upset that the current version of the House bill would end the practice of using 20 percent of gas tax revenue to subsidize mass transit.
In 1841, the Scottish writer Charles Mackay observed, ” the cup of life is not bitter enough to our palate, and we distill superfluous poison to put into it, or conjure up hideous things to frighten ourselves at, which would never exist if we did not make them.” CEI Warren Brookes Fellow Matt Patterson believes this glass-half-empty aspect of human nature applies directly to today’s global warming debate.
Patients are suffering from a nationwide shortage of more than 260 different prescription drugs, many of them for different types of cancer. Senior Fellow Greg Conko explains why the biggest culprit for the drug shortage is Washington. DEA and FDA regulations make it difficult to ramp up supply, or to change prices to more accurately reflect demand.
Immigration law is second in complexity only to the income tax. In a new CEI paper, Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh proposes scrapping the whole thing and replacing it with a tariff. This is a much more humane approach to immigration, and in many cases will be less expensive for immigrants than the lawyers and fees they currently have to pay while they live in legal limbo. A tariff would also reduce illegal immigration by eliminating black markets. Money that currently goes to illegal smugglers and human traffickers could instead go to the U.S. Treasury. The idea can appeal to both the left and the right.
Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton breaks down the FDA’s behind-the-scenes push to regulate dietary supplements nearly as strictly as prescription drugs.
The state of Georgia recently passed strict new requirements for immigrant farm workers. Immigration Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh looks at the results of a new report released by the state. Workers are fleeing to other states, causing a labor shortage. Some farmers find they lose less money by actually letting their crops rot in the fields rather than comply with state and federal rules.
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