Later, alligator: The crisis at the border and in our streets has gone on far too long—the time is ripe for deporting the millions of migrants who have swarmed our land illegally, and for fixing our immigration system. Heritage is ready for the fight. 

• “Deportation is necessary not only to bring back law and order and protect the working class, but also to restore the full political rights of every American,” writes Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts in The Federalist.  
• Last Tuesday, the Border Security and Immigration Center released a new report outlining more than 50 principles and policies to overhaul America’s immigration system and prevent this catastrophe from ever happening again.  
• “From the ashes comes a great opportunity to redesign a new, simpler, fairer, and more manageable immigration system that prioritizes America first,” writes Lora Ries, director of the Border Control and Immigration Center.  

Read Roberts’ op-ed here and the Heritage report here. 

Shake up: Ronald Reagan had promised to drain the swamp.  President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks can make that dream a reality. 

• “Trump’s mandate is for a long, controlled burn of the federal bureaucracy—to get rid of the deadwood without letting the fire spread out of control,” writes Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of Heritage Action for America. “Trump’s Cabinet picks reflect this fact. Conservatives should rally around them.” 

Read more here. 

Trust the science: Many claims made about climate change turn out to be faulty, as detailed in three new Heritage Special Reports. 

• No, hurricanes are not becoming more frequent or intense. Read that report here.  
• There is no evidence that climate change will increase asthma rates. Read that report here. 
• The millennials-long record of the Nile shows how climate is always changing. Read that report here.  

These reports are part of an ongoing series debunking myths about climate change. 

Baby, it’s cold outside: Could the “demographic winter” the West has faced over the past few decades have more to do with government policies than economic concerns or cultural shifts? Policy changes could have a major influence on fertility rates. 

• “We need to consider how existing government programs may be suppressing fertility rates and how reforming or eliminating those programs could make a significant difference,” write Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy, and Jay Greene, senior research fellow. 

Read more here.  

 

Creative disruption: Applications for the 5th round of the Heritage Innovation Prizes are now open! Each year, Heritage donates a total of $1 million to results-oriented non-profits that have developed breakthrough solutions to the country’s most pressing problems.

• The Innovation Prizes are intended to spark creative disruption within the conservative movement, particularly in areas such as education choice, parental rights, border security, crime, fiscal policy, and more.
• The application window closes on Jan. 31, 2025.

Learn more about the Innovation Prizes and apply here. If you have any questions, email  [email protected].

Crackdown: Beyond a shadow of a doubt, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has the chops to be the U.S. attorney general that President-elect Trump needs to restore law and order, say Heritage experts. 

• “Pam Bondi is the most experienced career criminal prosecutor ever slated to be the chief law enforcement officer of the United States,” write senior legal fellows Charles “Cully” Stimson and Zack Smith. 

Read more here. 

Gender-bender: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti last week, with a ruling expected in June.  

• Tennessee defended its 2023 law banning “gender-affirming” care for minors against the Biden-Harris Department of Justice and the ACLU.  
• Many justices seemed skeptical of interfering with the state’s law, write Sarah Parshall Perry and Tom Jipping, Heritage senior legal fellows.  

Perry interviewed Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti about the case for Heritage’s “Case in Point” podcast. Watch that here.  

Restoring American Wellness Summit 

The growing coalition of Americans concerned about the country’s health presents a unique opportunity to confront the misalignment between the medical, health, and agricultural systems and the American people. A critical examination of corporate influence, government regulatory agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry reveals systemic issues contributing to our national health crisis. Join Heritage experts for an in-depth discussion of these critical issues. 

 

Dec. 18, 10:15 a.m. Register here. 

• How Elites Got the Election Wrong—and Ignored Those Predicting Trump’s Win—Andrew Puzder 
• The Biden-Harris Department of Labor Is Politicizing Your Retirement Savings—David R. Burton
• We Need to Be Economically Independent from China, or They Will Punish Us—Diana Furchtgott-Roth 
• Tornado of Administrative Overreach: Challenging Sanctions of Crypto Mixing Services—Zack Smith 
• Report: Congress Should Consider Enacting the RESTORE Patent Rights Act—Adam Mossoff 
• Report: Derailing the Tren de Aragua—Joseph Humire 
• Not Too Late for a Nuclear Revolution—Austin Gae 
• A Drop of ‘Mercy’ on Thanksgiving—Brenda Hafera 
• Report: The Progressive Prosecutor ‘Data and Science’ Hoax—Charles Stimson 
• Report: Protecting Primary Parental Authority from Institutional Challenges—Sarah Parshall Perry 

Mary Vought, vice president of strategic communications, appeared on Fox News to discuss President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, pointing out that the attacks on Hegseth have nothing to do with his character and everything to do with the policies he’d establish. Watch the clip here.