Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
<[link removed]>Reinstatement of ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy a ‘Win’ for Border Security <[link removed]> – Fraudulent asylum claims were overwhelming the system in 2019, and once again are today thanks to President Biden’s self-inflicted, far worse crisis. Meanwhile, individuals who do meet the criteria for refuge under U.S. law will face a backlog filled with those fraudulent claims. MPP is essential to a functioning humanitarian system and to America’s national security. It is a welcome development that the Supreme Court has delivered this rebuke to the Biden administration, and a win for any American concerned about the Biden border crisis. Heritage expert: Lora Ries <[link removed]>
How Might China Exploit Afghanistan Debacle? <[link removed]> – A final question is whether China would want to exploit the mineral resources of Afghanistan. The nation is said to be a treasure trove of various minerals, including rare earths. But the Chinese, while seeking resources from around the world, already have sources for many of these resources. This is not to suggest that Beijing would ignore Afghanistan’s minerals, but that it is not necessarily in a hurry to access them. China’s patience is likely to be rewarded if it waits and uses the interval to get a better understanding of the various tribes, personalities, and ethnic groups in the region, and negotiate from a position of
cultural and ethnic familiarity. What China gains in light of the catastrophic American failure in Afghanistan is a wonderful opportunity to highlight American unreliability and fecklessness. As Beijing has already signaled to Taiwan, if Washington won’t support Afghanistan, where it has trillions of dollars, thousands of lives, and fought for 20 years, why should Taipei believe that Washington will commit itself to Taiwan’s security? Heritage experts: Dean
Cheng <[link removed]>

Feminism And American Restlessness <[link removed]> – It is perhaps understandable
then that American housewives of the ’50s felt some insecurity (as some still do today) about not receiving a wage, though their work is invaluable. The results are less identifiable and tangible, not measured by a proportionate salary. A mother can change a diaper five times a day and be left with the same clean and healthy infant. This belief in equality is a prominent source of American ambition and individualism. Americans aspire toward excellence and believe themselves capable of achieving it. Our principal limitation is not class but merit. “An immense and easy career seems to open before the ambition of men,” Tocqueville wrote, “and they readily imagine that they are called to great destinies.” So, when Friedan urged women to split atoms, penetrate outer space, create art that illuminates human destiny, and be pioneers on the frontiers of society, her call resonated. It appealed to her audience as Americans. According to Tocqueville, this ambitiousness, along with our prosperity, makes us restless. Americans will build their dream house—and then sell it. We will master a profession only to change jobs. Any amount of leisure cannot be tolerated; an American will flee, in a hurried and abrupt manner, from the quiet and the settled “to distract himself better from his happiness.” Heritage expert: Brenda Hafera <[link removed]>

Congress Should Fund Stronger Efforts to Block Imports Made With Forced Labor <[link removed]> – President
Joe Biden’s budget failed to mention combating forced labor as a priority for the administration. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s budget justification report requests $12.7 million for the Advanced Trade Analytics Platform to help identify and stop shipments with goods produced with forced labor. The goal of the platform for 2022 is to streamline the data surrounding forced labor and the case management in forced labor investigations. Addressing human rights violations against Uyghurs is a bipartisan issue. In fact, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 was passed by unanimous consent in
the Senate and received overwhelming support in the House. In July, the Senate also unanimously approved the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would more stringently target goods imported from Xinjiang. Neither of those bills included prioritizing resources for Customs and Border Protection’s Forced Labor Division, however. Congress needs to affirm its commitment to human rights by equipping it with the expertise and resources it needs to combat forced labor. Heritage expert: Tori Smith <[link removed]>

California and the West
Burn Again <[link removed]> – Certainly, there are positive examples of small-scale entities taking control of managing their local forests. Some Native American tribes have effectively managed their land by harvesting old growth and timber. Some environmental policy experts have even advocated the creation of “charter forests” that would—much like charter schools—be publicly owned but privately run to do a better job of taking care of vast swaths of land currently
lying fallow. The advantage of having local entities take over forest management is that they can quickly respond to the unique needs of their forests. Large federal agencies like the Forest Service, on the other hand, often move at a glacial pace at best even when a change is desperately needed. The problem in California and throughout the West is enormous. A half-century of poor management will be difficult to undo. But failing now will leave future generations at the mercy of these fires and little to build on but soot and ashes. Heritage expert: Jarrett Stepman <[link removed]>

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