'Americans deserve immigration officials who are transparent about what they do and why'
'Mistreatment of them affects us too'
Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic
The White House has "assured the public that individuals it is deporting are terrible people," yet in many cases, "it has presented little or no evidence to back up its claims," says Conor Friedersdorf. "These moves don't just hurt foreigners," they "threaten Americans too, eroding the very foundations of our liberty." Immigration enforcement "needn't be this way," as "Trump could easily" deport illegal immigrants "without threatening our open society," in much the same way Barack Obama once did.
'Trump's tariff policy arrives at a perilous time for Xi'
Simone Gao at The Hill
"Under the pressure of rising U.S. tariffs," China may be "trying to de-escalate a full-blown trade war through top-level talks," says Simone Gao. Trump's tariffs are "painful for the U.S. too, but it's probably China that won't be able to hold out," in large part thanks to President Xi Jinping's "repeated, disruptive and erratic economic moves." Against "this backdrop, Trump's tariffs sting," and "that may give the U.S. an edge at the negotiating table."
'The stakes feel too high to take our chances on "interesting ideas"'
Zach Gottlieb at The Boston Globe
"My peers strategically filled their schedules with classes, clubs and activities directly related" to their "post-grad goals rather than to their wide-ranging interests," says Zach Gottlieb of his freshman year at Stanford. Now, as high schoolers "across the country decide where to spend their college years, I worry that they'll be thinking of their choice as another resume-building enterprise," when college is actually the "only time in their life when they should let their curiosity, and not conventional thinking, be their guide."
'There is no excuse for people dying young because of financial stress'
Bernie Sanders at Newsweek
"Being poor or working class in America is a death sentence," says Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). A recent report found the "bottom 50% of Americans can expect to live seven fewer years than those in the top 1%." The "life expectancy in the United States is lower than almost every other wealthy nation, even though we're spending twice as much per capita on health care" because other countries have a "far stronger social safety net than we do."