I’m proud to publish my first contribution to Global Nation, a project from Public Radio International.
Drawing on reporting I did for The Book of Isaias, I make the case that the federal government often doesn’t treat “illegal immigration” as though it were really illegal – rather, the government often allows unauthorized immigrants to remain in the United States openly, but with limited rights.
I wrote: Decades of hands-off federal policy have allowed millions of unauthorized immigrants to put down roots. If Trump follows through with his campaign promise of large-scale deportations in the US interior, it would mean casting out families that have lived here for years and disrupting the lives of their citizen children. It would represent a big shock to the economic and social order — perhaps a much bigger shock than many people imagine.
The story has generated quite a bit of readership and discussion since it was posted online. You can read it here.