Carrots and Sticks

The 2nd Trump administration has allocated ~$75B to deportation efforts (One Big Beautiful Bill). Additionally, there might be another $2B in funding diverted from military spending.  I am sure there are other monies squirreled away in different budgets.   But whatever, $75B is a significant number.  And it is many, many times what was spent on deportation efforts in the past.

This money is being spent on:

• People.  Deportation officers, detention management, case management, legal support staff, supervision.
• Facilities.  Payments for detention bedspace, medical services, food, guards, etc. 
• Services.  Detention contracts, transportation contracts, alternatives-to-detention monitoring contracts, etc.  
• Transportation.  Air charter removals, commercial air tickets, ground transport, escorts.
• Support.  IT systems, mission support, training, etc. 

There is some overlap in these buckets, but the total of $75B has no double-counting; that is the money allocated.

This is all “stick” money.   We are treating immigration as a problem, and whacking away on it with the biggest stick we can find.  And at terrible individual cost for the people caught up in the actions, and at terrible reputational cost for our nation.  And this doesn’t count the attacks on research funding and student visas, which are driving out smart, educated people who have contributed so much to our country.  The long-term costs of this attack on immigration will likely dwarf the $75B direct allocation.

Immigration has been such a force for good for the US.  The dreams of political freedom, economic freedom, equal rights, a free press, and religious freedom have together attracted great people from all over the world throughout our history.  The country isn’t perfect — we have often failed to live up to our ideals — but immigration has been a superpower for us.  How much do we spend on “carrots” to encourage immigration, and promote immigration done well?

It is hard to characterize what we spend on immigration support; there is no single budget line item.   It is probably in the single-digit billions, spanning English-language education, civics programs, citizenship administration, resettlement support, and education support for kids of immigrants.  I bet some of these are on the chopping block for the Trump administration.   So there is at least a 10x differential between carrot and stick money.

It is reasonable to demand that new citizens should embrace the core principles and “operating system” of the US.   An embrace of democratic principles, the Bill of Rights, civil rights, a market economy, and the English language — we should support committed immigrants as they learn all of this.   Which will take money and effort, and we aren’t doing that today.

We need positive energy and leadership from our elected officials. Anyone can hit down on the weaker ones in society. Leaders raise us up.

Being a Fan

We went to the Seahawks/Rams game last week.  What a crazy, great game for Seahawks fans.  One of the two best football games I’ve ever been to.   And it was particularly memorable because our young nephew, who is a huge Seahawks fan, came to town for the game.  His enthusiasm was contagious; it was hard not to get caught up in it.

Which reminds me, being a fan is a superpower.  Being optimistic about a team, a project, a mission, and demonstrating that positivity unflaggingly — that is powerful stuff.

Finally

Bari Weiss is a viral marketing genius.  She has managed to get the entire world to watch a "60 Minutes" segment.