An illuminating session of “Tech Support” hosted by WIRED featured law professor and immigration lawyer Charles Cook, who meticulously dismantled common misconceptions surrounding the American immigration system. Cook addressed complex questions submitted by the public, providing essential legal definitions and challenging pervasive anti-immigrant narratives regarding economics, legal pathways, and enforcement.
Cook began by clarifying the fundamental differences between legal statuses. A visa is merely a stamp issued by a consular officer that allows a foreign national to apply for entry into the U.S. at a port of entry, with 24 types for temporary stays and 30 for immigration. A green card, by contrast, is the physical evidence of permanent residence in the United States. He also distinguished between protection statuses: a refugee is outside the U.S. and undergoes a roughly two-year vetting process to prove persecution abroad before becoming a permanent resident. An asylum seeker is already in the U.S. or arrives at the border, asking to apply for protection based on a fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group (such as being gay or lesbian).
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The notion of easily immigrating by simply arriving at the border was dismissed as "basically impossible". Unless a person is applying for asylum, there is no legal right to remain or immigrate, and even asylum seekers are likely to be detained for months or years while their cases are adjudicated. Similarly, legal pathways are rigid. Non-citizens on H-1B work visas who are laid off or quit have only a 60-day grace period to change their status, find a new employer, or leave the U.S. before facing deportation proceedings. Marriage fraud is also heavily scrutinized; marrying solely for a green card is illegal. Successful marriage cases require concrete proof of a real relationship, including co-mingling of assets, shared bank accounts, and physically living together for the two-year conditional residence period. Moreover, permanent residency is not inviolable; green cards can be revoked if the holder commits a crime within five years, stays outside the country for more than 180 days annually, or misrepresents themselves during the application process. Even U.S. citizenship can be revoked if the individual lied on their application.
Cook aggressively countered the narrative that immigrants are an economic drag. He emphasized that the American economy is not a fixed "pie," but one that "grows" with immigration. Immigrants fill unskilled jobs that Americans typically choose not to do, acting as a necessary labor supply that prevents these jobs from being outsourced. This contribution is substantial: undocumented immigrants alone pay billions of dollars in taxes annually—including income taxes (using a tax ID number), property taxes, and taxes on food and rent—all without accessing welfare or free healthcare. The impact of immigrant entrepreneurship is profound, with 49% of startups in Silicon Valley over the last three decades initiated by immigrants. The suggestion of stopping immigration for even a year would be catastrophic, hindering the country's necessary growth and competitiveness.
The conversation also highlighted severe enforcement realities and due process concerns. Cook confirmed that legal immigrants are absolutely subject to deportation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers possess broad powers, able to arrest individuals without a warrant within a 100-mile zone around the U.S., a zone covering 70% of the population. They do not need a warrant to arrest someone identified as violating immigration law, though they generally need one to enter a home. The lack of requirements for officers to wear uniforms or immediately identify themselves has led to instances where U.S. citizens have been arrested simply because they "look foreign". Detention facilities are described as holding facilities that are worse than prisons, and previous administrations weaponized harsh conditions to pressure detainees into waiving their due process rights and accepting deportation.Regarding terminology, Cook pointed out that "chain immigration" is a derogatory term used by anti-immigration activists for what is correctly called family-based immigration, which has been the core of U.S. visa distribution, accounting for over 70% of annual visas since 1952. Finally, data from Texas shows that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a significantly lower rate than U.S. citizens, largely due to the deterrent effect of fearing deportation. Proposals like revoking jus soli (birthright citizenship) were deemed catastrophic, as they would create an entire class of stateless individuals lacking papers and solve no immediate problem.
