Are U.S. civil liberties being squeezed in the name of security and foreign policy? This episode digs into free speech, due process, deportation risk, Israel protests, First Amendment limits, and what that means for green card and visa holders. Luke argues that recent cases show the government acknowledging legal speech while still moving to remove people, and he questions whether that squares with any claim of defending free expression. He revisits the Martin Gurri debate on voting for “speech” reasons, walks through the Roslyn J-1 visa story, cites a French scientist detained and sent home, and asks where this ends if courts lag behind real-world consequences.
We examine how constitutional rights interact with federal authority, the political incentives at play, and why defending unpopular speech matters most at the edge. If you value civil liberties and want a sharper, reality-based conversation, you’re in the right place. Subscribe for more clear-eyed analysis and interviews.
Learn more, and join in on the conversation on Luke’s Substack: https://lthomas.substack.com/
Chapters
00:00 Why this matters now
00:36 The Gurri debate
01:19 Green card case recap
02:14 Roslyn J1 visa story
03:29 Protests and backlash
04:17 Who gets due process
05:09 France scientist example
06:20 Where this could head
07:09 Civil liberties warning
08:00 Defending unpopular speech
09:10 Final takeaway
Full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/live/9pDG5L8Bmdc
