As the federal government ramps up deportation efforts, myths about sanctuary cities are widespread. Professor Tom Wong shows how local sanctuary policies lead to safer and economically stronger communities and explains what they can and cannot do.

For More on this Topic:

• Check out his research discussed in The Washington Post and San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Read his new book, The Politics of Immigration.

Further Reading:

• How Young Immigrants, Communities, and States Benefit from President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Tom Wong, Spotlight, August 2015
• Should Local Police be on the Front Lines of Immigration Enforcement?, Doris Marie Provine, Arizona State University
• What Does the Supreme Court's Deadlocked Decision on Deferring Deportations Mean for Immigrant Families?, Heide Castañeda, University of South Florida

The outsized influence of money is a problem in U.S. politics. Sean McElwee and Professor Tabatha Abu El-Haj describe how donors skew policy and how getting more people to vote could counter big money in politics where repealing Citizens United cannot.

For More on this Topic:

• Check out McElwee’s study, Whose Voice, Whose Choice?
• Read Professor Abu El-Haj’s two-page brief, The Inevitable Limits of Campaign Finance Reform, or her article, Beyond Campaign Finance Reform.
• Find the recommended articles by Professor Theda Skocpol in Vox and the New York Times.

Further Reading:

• Making Sense of the Koch Network, Theda Skocpol, Harvard University
• Rising Economic Inequality and Campaign Contributions from Very Wealthy Americans, Adam Bonica, Stanford University, Howard Rosenthal, New York University

Protests that turn violent have been a constant throughout American history. Professor Ashley Howard explains their origins, and how new laws, policing methods, and social media have changed the way people demonstrate.

For More on this Topic:

• Check out her interview in The Chronicle of Higher Education and her piece in The Black Scholar.
• Read her two-page brief, How U.S. Urban Unrest in the 1960s Can Help Make Sense of Ferguson, Missouri, and Other Recent Protests.

Further Reading:

• How the Ferguson Commission Can Promote Healing and Reconciliation in Metropolitan Saint Louis, Eric Royer, University of Missouri-St. Louis
• How Social Movements are Using the Internet to Change Politics, Deana A. Rohlinger, Florida State University
• How Legacies of Urban Racial Segregation Shape Today's Controversies over Police Killings of Black People, Colin Gordon, University of Iowa

Republican majorities in the federal government and in most states are putting protections for abortion, parenting, and birth control rights at risk. Professor Monica McLemore details what the future may hold for reproductive health, rights, and justice.

For More on this Topic

• Read her two-page fact sheet, What Trump Means for Abortion Access, co-authored with Ushma Upadhyay and Alice Cartwright.
• Check out the  “What if Roe Fell” report from the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the policy and advocacy resources from Reproductive Health in Nursing.
• Explore organizations working toward reproductive justice like the National Network of Abortion Funds, ACCESS Reproductive Justice, Sister Song, and SisterReach.

Further Reading:

• The Future of Reproductive Rights in America, SSN Spotlight, May 2016
• What Happened to Women's Health When the State of Ohio Forced the Use of Outdated Abortion Procedures?, Alice Cartwright, Sarah C.M. Roberts, and Ushma Upadhyay, ANSIRH, University of California, San Francisco

Trump and Republican leaders have promised to repeal Obamacare, leaving millions without health insurance. Professor Colleen Grogan breaks down the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, its shortcomings, and key parts of proposed alternatives.

For More on this Topic:

• Read her two-page fact sheet, What Trump Means for the Affordable Care Act, co-authored with Dean Sherry Glied <link>.
• Check out her brief, Debunking Myths about Medicaid - And Its Expansion, with Theda Skocpol and Katherine Swartz.

Further Reading:

• How Obamacare Repeal Would Harm Rural America, Claire Snell-Rood, University of California, Berkeley, Cathleen E. Willging, Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest
• How Obamacare Helps Americans Who Already Have Health Insurance, Jonathan Oberlander, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill