The Immigration Substack Universe

All migration newsletters and people you want to follow in one place

It’s been several months since I launched this newsletter, and the response has been far greater than I expected. I’m grateful for the support, especially given how niche some of these discussions can be. As a newcomer on Substack, I’ve spent time mapping the broader immigration space to see where my work might add something, so I thought I’d share the accounts I identified publicly.

I’ve seen similar lists on Twitter/X and Bluesky, so a centralized Substack version could be useful too. To build the list, I started with basic searches for Substack accounts mentioning “immigration,” then followed their recommendations and cross-checked with what I already knew. I tried to branch out as much as possible and include lesser-known accounts, but given my own background this list may tilt somewhat toward US and European politics writers.¹

For clarity, I divided the list into three rough categories: (1) economics and policy analysis; (2) legal reporting and advocacy; (3) and generalists who write about immigration. The list is by no means comprehensive (yet), the boundaries are blurry, and inclusion here is not an endorsement of any particular view. What unites these accounts is that they offer informative views on immigration from various ideological perspectives that are worth knowing even if you disagree. Here is the list in no particular order:

Economics, politics, and policy analysis

• Austin Kocher’s newsletter: commentary on US immigration law and policy.

• Laurenz Guenther’s newsletter: data-driven analysis of public opinion and populism.

• Zeke Hernandez’s Zekrets: “Evidence-based opinion on global economic issues, with a dollop of life wisdom.”

• Nathan Goodman’s Guns, Guards, and Governance: Border militarization, self-governance, and political economy.

• Eric Kaufmann’s Centre for Heterodox Social Science newsletter: “Challenging progressive orthodoxies in academia, advancing post-progressive social science research, and critically studying left-wing ideology.”

• Alex Nowrasteh’s Laissez-Faire, Laissez-Passer: empirical work on US immigration economics and policy.

• Colin Yeo’s We Wanted Workers: UK-focused policy analysis and research-based commentary.

• Jordi Amaral’s Americas Migration Brief: concise weekly roundups of policy and research across the Americas tagged by topic and country for quick scanning.

• Dan Kowalski’s Involuntary Departure: commentary on US immigration law and policy from a scholar-practitioner perspective.

• Alex Randall’s Moving Climate: commentary on the intersection of climate and migration.

• Andrea R. Flores’s America’s Promise: “This newsletter is for anyone who wants to understand why Washington keeps failing on immigration and learn about solutions for the future.”

• Alexander Kustov’s Popular by Design: a newsletter highlighting politically sustainable immigration policies and research behind these policies.

• César García Hernández’s Immigration Law Unhinged: analysis of immigration law and policy with a focus on statutory changes and implementation.

• Michael Kagan’s Behind the Border: “An immigration law professor at the frontlines” with accessible explainers and case-driven insights.

• John Washington’s Lit & Border News: immigration detention, reading recommendations.

• Gil Guerra’s Points of Entry: “Original research on how immigration shapes who we are, how we compete, and how we stay safe.”

• Lauren Gilbert’s Lauren Policy: accessible reviews and links to most recent immigration research with a focus on development.

Legal news, original reporting, and advocacy

• The Border Chronicle: border policy, detention, and politics with on-the-ground reporting.

• Immigration Frontlines: an immigration attorney’s on-the-ground dispatches from the U.S. system: concise, case-driven explainers on courts, detention, and policy changes.

• BORDER/LINES: weekly newsletter with original US immigration reporting.

• Max Granger’s Writing on the Wall: “Essays, reporting, criticism, and interviews on the polycrisis in América and beyond.”

• Kate Morrissey’s Beyond the Border: human stories about the US immigration system.

• Roger McCrummen’s Substack: “Discussions of immigration policy from an immigration lawyer and person of faith.”

• Sarah Towle’s Tales of Humanity: “shining the light on strategies for resistance in text and podcast formats; celebrating individuals on the frontlines, who show us, every day, that there is a better way -- that we can welcome newcomers.”

• Pablo Manríquez’s Migrant Insider: “a hard news startup to cover immigration beat.”

• Chris R. Glass’s Distributed Progress: “Exploring how science, talent, and mobility shape progress in a world transformed by AI” with frequent data and analysis on US international students.

• La Cuenta: tallying costs faced by undocumented residents, policy-relevant stories.

• Jim McKeever’s Border Humanity: humanitarian perspectives from the border.

• Jack Beavers’s US Border News: reporting on “border security (including combating drug & human smuggling), immigration issues, and life along the US Southern Border with Mexico.”

• Agustina Vergara Cid’s From Her Beacon Hand: “defending America’s founding ideals and self-interest by advocating for the legal and safe immigration of peaceful people.”

• Save Resettlement: tracking US refugee-resettlement capacity and funding.

• Immigration Hub: bi-monthly guide to the latest campaign, messaging, and policy immigration news.

• The Migration Opportunity: newsletter of the Talent Mobility Fund, covering various promising pilot programs and policies.

• Economic Innovation Group’s Agglomerations: new data and analysis of immigration and related issues from the perspective of growth.

• IFP (Institute for Progress) newsletter: analysis of immigration and related issues from the perspective of progress.

• Eyes On Immigration Court: newsletter about NYC’s federal immigration courts.

• Nicola Kelly’s newsletter: “Short essays on all sorts, personal and political” with a focus on UK immigration and asylum.

• Vanessa Johnson’s Notes from the Beautiful Periphery: “Reimagining the US-Mexico Borderlands and Edges Everywhere.”

As honorable mentions, there are also a few generalists who have substantial content on immigration. This is probably the most controversial category since many other bigger and smaller accounts could be added.

Generalists who write about immigration

• Good Authority: data and analysis from political scientists but accessible, including on immigration.

• Matthew Yglesias’s Slow Boring: pragmatic policy and politics, frequent immigration analysis.

• Noah Smith’s Noahpinion: economics and politics with recurring focus on immigration and Japan.

• Ben Ansell’s Political Calculus: UK politics and analysis with a focus on public opinion and populism.

• Georgina Sturge’s Talk Data to Me: UK statistics and current affairs, explaining official data and measures.

• Bryan Caplan’s Bet on It: economics and immigration from a libertarian perspective.

• Jerusalem Demsas’s The Argument: original reporting and data analysis on US politics and contentious issues from a center-left perspective.

• The UnPopulist: “a publication committed to defending free and open societies.”

• The Liberal Patriot: “Political and policy analysis from the vital center.”

• Richard Hanania’s newsletter: US politics and foreign policy from a right-libertarian perspective.

• Rotimi Adeoye’s American Pursuit: “a newsletter on policy, politics, and building what’s next.”

• Tibor Rutar’s Political Economy, Stats, and Society: short research-informed posts on societal issues.

I expect to update this post over time, so if I missed someone, let me know in the comments (self-promotion welcome).

1. I deliberately excluded substacks with a sole focus on secondary news and legal advice.