Millions of undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. for decades and become part of America's fabric. This brief makes the case for prioritizing their legalization — and shows how it can be done.
Although Texans broadly support relaxing cannabis laws and other criminal justice reforms, state leaders continue the war on drugs and other policies that propagate systemic racism, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.
In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.
Despite the frozen status of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the considerable obstacles to restart them, a U.S.-led effort could help to gradually forge a “Framework Agreement for an Israeli-Palestinian Permanent Peace.” This policy brief outlines the principles that such a framework might embody, with the essential objective of two states for two peoples.
The 2021 Texas legislative session is known as the most conservative in a generation, but its ideological and partisan dynamics tell a more nuanced story. Political science fellow Mark Jones utilizes roll call vote data to improve our understanding of how the controversial session unfolded. Read his report below.
Marriage. Divorce. Custody. Tunisia is often considered a women's rights leader among Arab Spring countries. But women still can't equally share an inheritance. The authors explore the secular and Islamist debate.
Mexico's pivotal June 6 elections brought critical losses to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his MORENA party. What do they mean for the Mexican people and the U.S.-Mexico relationship? Tony Payan analyzes the election outcome in this commentary.
2021 changes to Mexico’s Hydrocarbon Law are expressions of state power through legal reforms, and are exceptionally alarming. Nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein explains in the Baker Institute Blog.
President Biden has an opportunity, the author argues, to resurrect the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program and provide a pathway to legal status for millions of undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. This report explores the potential of the DAPA program to impact immigrant families and policy avenues toward its passage.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which became law in mid-March, left out the mandate to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, but it did lead to an open policy discussion about current minimum wage standards. In a post for the Baker Institute Blog, public finance fellow Joyce Beebe considers some of the pros and cons of increasing the minimum wage and possible future developments.
