A roundup of opinion writing this week touched on immigration enforcement, France’s political and spiritual crisis, and a climate lawsuit strategy now before the Supreme Court.
Breitbart’s John Nolte criticized a Sunday “60 Minutes” segment about Moussa Diawara, described by the show as “a family man deported to Ghana in July.” Nolte argues the segment left out key facts: Diawara overstayed a tourist visa, evaded a final deportation order issued by a judge in 2012 for more than a decade, and had obtained refugee status by claiming he was gay and feared persecution in his home country. He later married and had two children rather than living as a gay man in the United States. Nolte calls this “immigration fraud,” writing that “if you commit immigration fraud, you get deported.”
France’s Unrest, Examined From Two Angles
The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn responded to President Trump’s remark that France is “burning,” agreeing that open borders are only “half the problem.” McGurn argues the French have lost belief in anything beyond secularism, treating religion as “a premodern relic of a less enlightened time.” He contrasts this with the United States, which he calls “the most modern and advanced country in the world” while also being highly religious, and concludes that France’s hostility to religion “no longer looks enlightened but passé.” In his view, unassimilated Muslims are a real problem, but the deeper issue is that post-Enlightenment France, and Europe more broadly, is “built on sand.”
The Washington Post Editorial Board focused on France’s finances, warning the country “cannot generate enough tax revenue to finance its existing commitments without enormous deficits.” With debt approaching 120% of GDP, the board criticized presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon for backing policies like allowing some workers to retire at 60 and freeing up more money for public spending. The editorial points to Denmark, which gradually raised its retirement age after recognizing its aging population threatened pension sustainability, as a model France should consider. Absent reform, the board warns, investors will demand higher returns to keep lending to France, draining money that could otherwise fund what protesters in Paris are demanding.
Climate Lawsuits and a Pending Supreme Court Case
Josh Hammer, writing at FoxNews, described what he calls a “well-funded network of climate activists” running “climate education seminars” aimed at judges, an effort to win through courts what has failed in legislatures. Hammer argues no climate plaintiff has a solid causation argument tying a specific defendant to a specific harm like a drought, so the strategy is to lower evidentiary standards so these cases fit ordinary tort law. He warns this would let municipalities effectively set national energy policy through jury awards and expose industries such as retailers and animal agriculture to climate lawsuits. With a relevant case now before the Supreme Court, Hammer argues the justices “should shut the courthouse door for good.”
A New York Consumer Protection Bill Draws Criticism
Eric Fruits of the Washington Examiner took aim at New York City Mayor Mamdani’s proposed POWER Act, which is pitched as protection for seniors targeted by scams and tenants fighting to recover security deposits. Fruits warns the bill’s broad rules, easy filing process, and $2,500 fines could turn consumer protection into what he calls a “settlement business,” since enforcement would fall to private plaintiffs and their lawyers rather than regulators. He argues vague prohibitions and large penalties could be used to file claims against businesses that can’t afford to fight them in court, and that a law failing to distinguish predatory businesses from ordinary competitors doesn’t deliver the protection New Yorkers deserve.
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