Michael D. Baker

Demanding every single part and raw material be American just isn’t practical or economically viable with today’s technology, supply chain, and material realities. Even vehicles heavily built and assembled in the U.S. need global parts to remain affordable and competitive

Ford paid $800 million in tariff costs over 3 months, despite building most of its cars in America That should put an end to the Trump administration's talking point about how there is no tariff for products built in the U.S.

Ford Paid $800 Million in Tariffs in Just 3 Months—Even Though Most of Its Cars Are Built in America reason.com/2025/08/05/f...

Strong growth in the foreign-born labor force through 2023 and 2024, followed by a sharp downturn in early 2025, culminating in a year-over-year decline by mid-2025

Price Increases: Studies estimate that mass deportations could increase consumer prices by 9.1% by 2028. The National Dairy Producers Federation warns that prices could double if the U.S. dairy sector loses its foreign-born workforce.

GDP Impact: Economic research estimates that mass deportations could reduce U.S. GDP by 2.6% to 6.2%, equivalent to losses between $711 billion and $1.7 trillion at 2023 levels. Some projections suggest GDP losses could reach $5 trillion over a decade.

The removal of 454,000 immigrant workers from 2008 to 2015 reduced employment for U.S.-born workers by 0.5% and lowered their wages by 0.6%. Each 500,000 immigrants removed from the labor market could result in 44,000 fewer jobs for U.S.-born workers.

Social and Economic Effects of Expanded Deportation Measures | Baker Institute Mass deportations have wide-ranging economic and social implications. The latest brief from the Center for the U.S. and Mexico examines how potential labor shortages and economic disruptions could aff...

Employment Paradox: Contrary to expectations, research shows that deportations harm U.S.-born workers. www.bakerinstitute.org/research/soc...

Fee waivers have mostly been eliminated—exceptions are extremely rare.

The law now requires annual inflation increases so that fees may go up every year.

This fee hike means seeking justice in immigration court is massively more expensive—and most can't get help with the cost.

Starting July 22, 2025, motions to reconsider and reopen in immigration court and appeals (BIA) now require a $900 non-waivable fee (up from $110).

Any forms postmarked on or after August 21, 2025, without the correct new fee are automatically rejected.

www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

If the respondent fails to show inability to pay, the BIA rejects the motion as improperly filed. The respondent then has 15 days to cure the deficiency by refiling with the required fee or by submitting a new, properly documented waiver request. The Board tolls refiling deadline during this period.

Filing fees deter frivolous filings and recover litigation costs under the Attorney General’s statutory authority. Applicants must prove actual inability to pay; fee waivers remain exceptional relief.

BIA in Matter of Garcia Martinez, 29 I&N Dec. 169 (BIA 2025), rejects motion to reconsider when the fee waiver lacks proof. BIA presumes non-detained aliens with private counsel can pay. Applicants must show credible hardship. (8 C.F.R. §1003.8(a)(3); BIA PM §3.4(c))

“In the tightest communities, there is something in man that wants out… and in the freest… men long for unconditional attachments. The tension between freedom and attachment… is the permanent condition of man.”
— Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind.

His case puts government overreach and the erosion of constitutional rights squarely in the spotlight.

His activism leans on dialogue as much as defiance.
He calls out a deeper problem: threatening someone’s residency over political speech crosses a dangerous line. For him, this isn’t just personal—it’s a test of whether a democracy can stomach dissent.

Khalil escaped persecution in his home country, only to face new pressure in the West for his political beliefs. Instead of retreating, he built alliances—especially with anti-Zionist Jews—to make clear that his fight is with state policies, not with people.

Search for facilities by name, city, state, or detention location code. detentionreports.com

This rhetorical strategy reflects not only political positioning but also a profound lack of empathy, reducing centuries of Jewish history to a single political role.

He avoids grappling with the emotional and historical weight of Jewish fears and treats concerns about antisemitism as distractions from Palestinian suffering.

Rather than engage seriously with the history of Jewish persecution or the complexity of Jewish identity, Khalil relies on a narrow, conflict-driven narrative.

He insists his political activism targets Israel, not Jews, and repeatedly dismisses allegations of antisemitism within pro-Palestinian activism as manufactured or exaggerated.

Once in the U.S., he built relationships primarily with anti-Zionist Jewish groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and cast them as the “real Judaism” in contrast to Zionist perspectives.

Khalil frames his views on Jews through a lens inherited from his upbringing in the Middle East, where Jews largely appeared as occupiers or adversaries in stories told within refugee communities. Before moving to the West, he had little to no personal contact with Jewish people.

Opinion | The Trump Administration Tried to Silence Mahmoud Khalil, So I Asked Him to Talk

Ezra Klein gives Mahmoud Khalil a platform, only for Khalil to reveal—almost proudly—how little he knows or cares about Jewish history, reducing Jews to distant antagonists and brushing off centuries of suffering and antisemitism. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/o...

Want to track these detention numbers in real time? A new tool, Interval ADP, helps show which facilities are surging from raids:
📍 Adelanto
📍 Mesa Verde
📍 Otay Mesa
Access at: detentionreports.com
#Transparency #DataforJustice

while exposing how ICE isolates detainees by transferring them far away, Legal and constitutional challenges to the raids are already underway, with profound consequences for immigrant communities.

From June 6 to July 20, nearly 3,000 people were arrested, often through controversial tactics like racial profiling and surprise arrests at everyday locations. New data methods show how these mass arrests translate into real-time surges at facilities like Adelanto and Mesa Verde,

A new report by Austin Kocher and Adam Sawyer reveals that ICE raids across Los Angeles this summer—part of intensified Trump-era immigration enforcement—have sharply increased detention numbers across Southern California’s sprawling immigration detention system.

Immigration Enforcement and Detention in Southern California: A Data-Driven Analysis New data reveals how Trump's LA immigration raids correlate with detention facility population spikes across Southern California, using real-time tracking tools to document enforcement impact.

🚨 Nearly 3,000 detained in LA-area ICE raids this summer. New data shows detention center populations spiking across SoCal—while families are left in the dark—a brutal system, now fully data-tracked. open.substack.com/pub/austinko...