The Issue of Our Age. Plus. . .

It’s Monday, November 24. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: What Ukrainians think of Trump’s peace plan. The 14-year-old running for governor. Jed Rubenfeld says: No, Mr. President, Democrats aren’t committing sedition. An ominous statement from Zohran Mamdani. And much more.

But first: The latest installment of our “America at 250” series.

Immigration is arguably the defining issue of our age. Its social, economic, and cultural effects are vast—and the subject of some of our most bitter debates. The discontent it has generated has powered political revolutions across the West, including Donald Trump’s improbable rise (and stunning return). Now, with Trump’s administration aiming to deport a million people a year, immigration is becoming the most contentious issue of his second term.

Immigration is also something that goes to the heart of American identity. We are, as the cliché has it, “a nation of immigrants,” and home to more immigrants than any other country. From the Mayflower on, waves of new arrivals have defined what it means to be American, while the Statue of Liberty urges us to “Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Lofty principles are one thing; the messy reality, with all its moral dilemmas and painful trade-offs, is another. We’ve reported a lot on that reality here at The Free Press, from the tragic consequences of Biden’s extremely lax border policy to how Trump’s crackdown has upended the daily lives of migrants across the country.

This week, for the latest chapter of our yearlong America at 250 project (read all about that here), we’re building on that reporting and going deeper on immigration. Today, we start with the politics of it. We’re bringing you two of the sharpest minds we know—with different views of the issue—on the question of how immigration came to dominate our politics.

Tyler Cowen supports immigration, but he argues that too many of those he agrees with fail to see the quandary at the heart of the issue. Tyler says it explains why immigration restrictions have to “become more oppressive and more unpleasant as time passes” and turn the liberals into illiberals. Read his essay to understand why “humane” immigration policy ends in cruelty.

For two periods in American history, the country more or less halted the influx of migrants. Now, we are in the middle of what Christopher Caldwell calls the “third great slamming of the Golden Door.” For many Americans, this is a source of national shame, and a sign the country is “turning away from its good ‘welcoming’ side and toward its low-class ‘xenophobic’ side.” That’s not the case, argues Christopher. Read his essay to learn why.

—The Editors

On Conversations with Coleman: The Viral Educator Warren Smith on Wokeness, Campus Culture, and Losing His Job

Last year, a video went viral of Warren Smith, then a high school teacher, speaking with an off-camera student. In it, Warren responds to his student’s claim that J.K. Rowling is a bigot by posing a series of calm, logic-driven questions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Warren’s employer was less enthusiastic about this conversation, and he lost his teaching job as a result. Today, Coleman Hughes sits down with Smith to discuss his cancellation, why so many institutions continue to struggle with balancing open inquiry against mounting social pressures, and what it will take to build a better future for American students.

You can watch the full conversation here, and listen to below:

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Ukraine and many of its key allies met in Geneva Sunday to discuss a new U.S. peace plan. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

• Ukraine and many of its key European allies met in Geneva Sunday to discuss a new U.S. peace plan. President Trump has given Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky until Thursday to accept the deal, otherwise he can “continue to fight his little heart out.”

• Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Friday that she will resign from Congress. After clashing with President Trump in recent weeks, Greene said that she didn’t want her district “to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for.”

• The Israeli military struck Beirut on Sunday in a targeted attack against Hezbollah’s chief of staff. It is the first strike on the Lebanese capital since June. “We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

• The State Department announced on X that they will require all U.S. embassies to produce reports on the human rights implications and public safety impacts of mass migration. In the post, the department called mass migration “an existential threat to Western civilization” that “undermines the stability of key American allies.”

• The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has officially been disbanded, with 8 months remaining on its charter. When asked about the department’s status, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor answered, “That doesn’t exist.” (Read Joe Nocera on “Why DOGE Failed.”)

• Saudi Arabia is beginning to loosen their drinking restrictions. According to sources familiar with the matter, the Gulf nation will reportedly allow non-Muslim visitors with “special residency status” to purchase alcohol from a store previously reserved for foreign diplomats, as the country continues to court Western influence.

• Haiti has qualified for a World Cup berth for the first time in 50 years. The soccer team’s success brings a rare bit of good news to a country racked with unrest.