Immigration & Customs
The best new science-fiction books of June 2026
There is plenty of intriguing sci-fi on offer this month, whether it's solar-powered cities from Adrian Tchaikovsky or a strange future from M. John Harrison A father mysteriously slips through time in Joseph Eckert's Writing this as the UK swelters under an unprecedented May heatwave, perhaps it's small wonder that so many science-fiction authors are currently imagining miserable versions of an overheated future in which their characters are struggling to survive. I'm intrigued by the sound of sci-fi legend M. John Harrison's upcoming take on a dystopian future, but if post-apocalyptic hellscapes aren't your thing, I'm also happy to report that there are other options for sci-fi fans this month. Next, I'm going to explore Isabel J. Kim's sci-fi spin on immigration,, as soon as I can get my hands on it. I am excited about this book: M. John Harrison is a really classy writer, winner of all sorts of awards, and his latest novel sounds right up my street. It's set in a future years after an obscure "crisis" changed everything, in a world where the seas are full of new creatures.
A Woman Was in the US Legally. She Was Deported Anyways
A Woman Was in the US Legally. María de Jesús Estrada Juárez was applying for her green card and thought she was doing everything right. Instead, she was arrested and deported to Mexico. María de Jesús Estrada Juárez came to the US from Mexico in 1998 at 15 years old. Later, she was a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the policy meant to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors from deportation .
Japan megabanks set to win Mythos access after Bessent visit
MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking are all likely to gain access to Anthropic's artificial intelligence model, Mythos. Japan's three megabanks are set to secure access to Anthropic's artificial intelligence model, Mythos, according to a person familiar with the matter, after its limited release last month sparked fears of a new age of cybersecurity risks. MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank are all likely to gain access to the artificial intelligence model developed by the U.S. firm, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The planned access was earlier reported by Nikkei. The move comes as financial institutions around the world grow alarmed about the risks created by Mythos, which has an unprecedented ability to detect software vulnerabilities. That has raised concerns that hackers could use Mythos to disrupt critical infrastructure, and access has so far been limited to a small number of U.S. companies and organizations.
The FCC Received Hundreds of Complaints About Bad Bunny's 'Vulgar' Super Bowl Performance
The complaints, obtained by WIRED, described Bad Bunny's performance as being overly sexual and protested that the show was in Spanish. Bad Bunny performs during halftime of Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Even before Bad Bunny took to the field, his Super Bowl halftime performance drew controversy, especially from MAGA influencers upset over the Puerto Rican star's comments against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the fact that he sings in Spanish. Following the performance, which was watched by more than 128 million people, those complaints continued--but they were largely focused on perceived vulgarity in the artist's performance. Following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from WIRED, the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates communications including broadcast, released 2,155 complaints the agency received about the Super Bowl, most of which were about the halftime show.
Robustness of Refugee-Matching Gains to Off-Policy Evaluation Choices
Bansak, Kirk, Paulson, Elisabeth, Rothenhäusler, Dominik, Ferwerda, Jeremy, Hainmueller, Jens, Hotard, Michael
Previous research has investigated the potential of refugee matching for boosting refugee outcomes, first considered by Bansak et al. (2018). This paper demonstrates the stability of counterfactual impact evaluation results in the context of refugee matching in the United States using a range of off-policy evaluation methods. In order to estimate counterfactual impact and test the robustness of our results, we employ several evaluation methods, including inverse probability weighting (IPW) and multiple variants of augmented inverse probability weighting (AIPW). We also consider various modifications, including alternative modeling architectures and different assignment procedures. The impact estimates remain consistent in magnitude in all scenarios as well as statistically significant in most cases. Furthermore, the estimates are also consistent with the results originally presented in Bansak et al. (2018).
Letters from Our Readers
Readers respond to Sarah Stillman's piece about the detention of migrant children, Patrick Radden Keefe's investigation into car-insurance fraud in New Orleans, and Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz's profile of Sam Altman. Sarah Stillman, in her excellent article on the U.S. government's detention of migrant children, does what many media outlets find impossible: she stays with an ongoing horror even as the news cycles that placed it front and center have passed ("No Mercy," April 20th). Stillman's piece also reminded me that the United States is the only U.N. member state that refuses to ratify the organization's Convention on the Rights of the Child, which enshrines children with certain rights--including to stay with their families whenever possible and to due process. America's refusal dates back to the nineteen-nineties; considering this, the current Administration's actions can be seen only as a shameful continuation of our country's failure to respect human rights, even on its own soil. Stillman's piece details widespread medical neglect at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, in Dilley, Texas, and points out that one source for its population's medical problems is the town's water.
The World Cup & Passport privilege
Game Theory: Who gets to go to the 2026 World Cup? Who actually gets to go to the World Cup? With US President Donald Trump's strict immigration policies, some fans may never make it past the American border. Because while teams qualify on merit, passports don't. Al Jazeera's Samantha Johnson explains. The Masters: Golf's segregated past Are Iran's athletes political pawns?
May Day rallies sweep US, demanding reforms for working-class rights
Roughly 500 labour groups across the United States have organised a widespread economic blackout calling for "no school, no work, no shopping" to mark May Day, also known as International Workers' Day. The events, organised as part of an initiative called May Day Strong, were inspired by economic boycotts following ramped-up immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the deaths of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January. May Day Strong has a broad set of demands, including "tax the rich" and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- a call that comes as Republicans voted on Wednesday on a budgetary measure that would fund the agency under the Department of Homeland Security. It also calls for ending war and "expanding democracy", according to a statement from the group. While the tent is broad in nature, organisers stressed that it is a result of a wide set of challenges facing the US worker.
What does the data tell us about immigration in Wales? Search for your area
What does the data tell us about immigration in Wales? Like many countries, Wales sees a steady flow of people arriving and leaving for other countries each year. The difference between those arriving and those leaving is known as net migration. Focusing on people moving from abroad, latest estimates say Wales' population - which was 3.2 million in June 2024 - had increased by about 23,000 over the previous year as a result of net international migration. A recent YouGov poll found a quarter of people surveyed in Wales believed that immigration, alongside the economy, should be among the issues prioritised by the Welsh government, even though immigration is controlled by the UK government.
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys Interviews with current and former Palantir employees, along with internal Slack messages obtained by WIRED, suggest a workforce in turmoil. It took just a few months of President Donald Trump's second term for Palantir employees to question their company's commitments to civil liberties . Last fall, Palantir seemed to become the technological backbone of Trump's immigration enforcement machinery, providing software identifying, tracking, and helping deport immigrants on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), when current and former employees started ringing the alarm. Right as they picked up the call, one of them asked, "Are you tracking Palantir's descent into fascism?" "That was their greeting," the other former employee says.