Ezra Klein Talks Immigration

The title of Ezra Klein’s latest podcast is deceptive — “Trump is Building His Own Paramilitary Force.” I mean, sure, he talks about the militarization of LA and DC, but the real focus is immigration. His guest for the episode is journalist Radley Balko, and their conversation is wide-ranging and fascinating. 

One thing the two discuss is Balko’ssubstack, The Watch, and his reporting from April 2025: The courage to be decent. It’s about an attorney who was asked to provide pro bono representation to a family with their immigration issues. When doing some relevant research, he got a visit from federal agents who did not identify themselves or their agency but who simply said: “We have information that you are obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation.” Like any self-respecting attorney, this guy immediately declined to talk and lawyered up. The substack goes on to talk about other intimidation tactics against attorneys that we’re more familiar with–the targeting of law firms themselves to discourage immigration-related pro bono work.

All-in-all, an interesting listen. Thanks, immprof Liz Keyes (Baltimore) for the tip!

-KitJ