Ben Helms
@benjaminhelms.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of International Affairs, Bush School, Texas A&M. Previously: Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. PhD from UVA. benjaminhelms.com
Reposted by Ben Helms
Wrote a short article for @voxdev.bsky.social using results from my primary data collection. This article is based on a forthcoming @thejop.bsky.social piece where I argue that male migration is an under-examined pathway for female political engagement. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Wrote a short article for @voxdev.bsky.social using results from my primary data collection. This article is based on a forthcoming @thejop.bsky.social piece where I argue that male migration is an under-examined pathway for female political engagement. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Ben Helms
1/🧵 Judges across ideological lines are ruling against Trump at strikingly similar rates (84% liberal, 86% centrist, 82% conservative). This isn't partisan opposition to Trump—it's the judiciary functioning as intended by cutting across partisan lines to uphold the Constitution.
March 18, 2025 at 9:32 PM
1/🧵 Judges across ideological lines are ruling against Trump at strikingly similar rates (84% liberal, 86% centrist, 82% conservative). This isn't partisan opposition to Trump—it's the judiciary functioning as intended by cutting across partisan lines to uphold the Constitution.
Reposted by Ben Helms
wrote an op-ed in our local paper drawing attention to the effects of USAID cuts on Illinois businesses
TL;DR it's bad!!
How USAID funding cuts hurt Illinois
www.news-gazette.com/opinion/gues...
TL;DR it's bad!!
How USAID funding cuts hurt Illinois
www.news-gazette.com/opinion/gues...
My Turn | How USAID funding cuts hurt Illinois
"The domestic consequences of the USAID shutdown will hurt the entire country directly," writes UI Assistant Professor Cleo O'Brien-Udry. "Illinois will be dramatically impacted due to its large agric...
www.news-gazette.com
February 25, 2025 at 3:53 PM
wrote an op-ed in our local paper drawing attention to the effects of USAID cuts on Illinois businesses
TL;DR it's bad!!
How USAID funding cuts hurt Illinois
www.news-gazette.com/opinion/gues...
TL;DR it's bad!!
How USAID funding cuts hurt Illinois
www.news-gazette.com/opinion/gues...
Reposted by Ben Helms
The White House's press release on widespread USAID fraud shows nothing of the sort, @charlesjkenny.bsky.social writes. He explains in a new blog post:
The White House Demonstrates USAID’s Efficiency
The White House issued a press release three days ago apparently designed to justify the ongoing stop-work orders at USAID, alongside pulling agency staff out of the field and locking them out of…
www.cgdev.org
February 11, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The White House's press release on widespread USAID fraud shows nothing of the sort, @charlesjkenny.bsky.social writes. He explains in a new blog post:
Reposted by Ben Helms
Interactive map of USAID agriculture cut impacts on farms, ports across the US storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/29fc...
February 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Interactive map of USAID agriculture cut impacts on farms, ports across the US storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/29fc...
Reposted by Ben Helms
Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator in the George W. Bush administration, has a few things to say about the Trump/Musk/Rubio assault on the agency. Worth watching. No pulling punches. via PBSNewsHour www.youtube.com/live/ZI6XIKx...
PBS News Hour live episode, Feb. 5, 2025
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
February 6, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator in the George W. Bush administration, has a few things to say about the Trump/Musk/Rubio assault on the agency. Worth watching. No pulling punches. via PBSNewsHour www.youtube.com/live/ZI6XIKx...
Interesting to not see Texas among the GOP states initially supporting Trump’s birthright citizenship EO irp.cdn-website.com/6a12d959/fil...
irp.cdn-website.com
February 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Interesting to not see Texas among the GOP states initially supporting Trump’s birthright citizenship EO irp.cdn-website.com/6a12d959/fil...
Reposted by Ben Helms
@benjaminhelms.bsky.social and I published a paper in 2022 showing that TPS, because it increases remittances, actually decreases subsequent unauthorized migration.
academic.oup.com/isq/article-...
academic.oup.com/isq/article-...
Labor Market Policy as Immigration Control: The Case of Temporary Protected Status
Abstract. Controlling immigration has become a central political goal in advanced democracies. Politicians across the world have experimented with a range
academic.oup.com
February 4, 2025 at 12:35 AM
@benjaminhelms.bsky.social and I published a paper in 2022 showing that TPS, because it increases remittances, actually decreases subsequent unauthorized migration.
academic.oup.com/isq/article-...
academic.oup.com/isq/article-...
Reposted by Ben Helms
Quick effort by a group of USAID supporters to mobilize against the shutdown and takeover -- includes a rally in DC on Wednesday. Website here:
How You Can Help — USAIDStopWork
Take action—because when aid stops, everyone suffers. Sign the petition. Contact your representatives. Spread the news. .
www.usaidstopwork.com
February 3, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Quick effort by a group of USAID supporters to mobilize against the shutdown and takeover -- includes a rally in DC on Wednesday. Website here:
Reposted by Ben Helms
Our congressional delegation pursuing oversight on reports of Elon Musk’s illegal activity at USAID was just barred from entering the building on the orders of Musk and the Trump Administration.
Nobody elected Musk — this is illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it.
Nobody elected Musk — this is illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it.
Members of Congress with @beyer.house.gov @vanhollen.senate.gov now seeking entry at USAID
February 3, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Our congressional delegation pursuing oversight on reports of Elon Musk’s illegal activity at USAID was just barred from entering the building on the orders of Musk and the Trump Administration.
Nobody elected Musk — this is illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it.
Nobody elected Musk — this is illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it.
Reposted by Ben Helms
Reposted by Ben Helms
Can the president dissolve USAID without an act of Congress? No.
www.justsecurity.org/107267/can-p...
www.justsecurity.org/107267/can-p...
Can the President Dissolve USAID by Executive Order?
Congress established USAID in statute, and the president may not unilaterally override a statute by executive order.
www.justsecurity.org
February 2, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Can the president dissolve USAID without an act of Congress? No.
www.justsecurity.org/107267/can-p...
www.justsecurity.org/107267/can-p...
Reposted by Ben Helms
Reposted by Ben Helms
🚨Why do people turn out less in some places than others, even in compulsory voting systems?🚨
In our new paper, forthcoming at BJPS, we highlight the role of migratory turnover in increasing voting costs for communities and test it using new municipal panel data from Brazil.
In our new paper, forthcoming at BJPS, we highlight the role of migratory turnover in increasing voting costs for communities and test it using new municipal panel data from Brazil.
December 18, 2024 at 6:35 PM
🚨Why do people turn out less in some places than others, even in compulsory voting systems?🚨
In our new paper, forthcoming at BJPS, we highlight the role of migratory turnover in increasing voting costs for communities and test it using new municipal panel data from Brazil.
In our new paper, forthcoming at BJPS, we highlight the role of migratory turnover in increasing voting costs for communities and test it using new municipal panel data from Brazil.
Reposted by Ben Helms
OK, here is my pre-registered take: Trump will make American immigration attitudes great again, again.
goodauthority.org/news/trump-2...
goodauthority.org/news/trump-2...
November 13, 2024 at 4:47 PM
OK, here is my pre-registered take: Trump will make American immigration attitudes great again, again.
goodauthority.org/news/trump-2...
goodauthority.org/news/trump-2...
A 75-degree day in Houston - who knew it could happen?
October 16, 2024 at 7:57 PM
A 75-degree day in Houston - who knew it could happen?
Spot my newest office decoration.
February 26, 2024 at 4:23 PM
Spot my newest office decoration.
Excited to share that my article "War on Aisle 5: Casualties, National Identity, and Consumer Behavior", coauthored with Sonal Pandya and Rajkumar Venkatesan, has been published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution!
Take a look here: doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Take a look here: doi.org/10.1177/0022...
February 3, 2024 at 7:41 PM
Excited to share that my article "War on Aisle 5: Casualties, National Identity, and Consumer Behavior", coauthored with Sonal Pandya and Rajkumar Venkatesan, has been published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution!
Take a look here: doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Take a look here: doi.org/10.1177/0022...
"By extending temporary protection to certain people who are already here and giving them the opportunity to work, TPS is a smart and humane way to improve the lives of people living here and abroad."
Check out my piece on TPS with David Leblang and Tom Jawetz with CNN
www.cnn.com/2023/10/05/o...
Check out my piece on TPS with David Leblang and Tom Jawetz with CNN
www.cnn.com/2023/10/05/o...
Opinion: A smart and humane answer on immigration | CNN
The Biden administration’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program is a humane policy that will improve the lives of people living here and abroad, write authors Ben Helms, David Leblang and Tom Ja...
www.cnn.com
October 5, 2023 at 9:30 PM
"By extending temporary protection to certain people who are already here and giving them the opportunity to work, TPS is a smart and humane way to improve the lives of people living here and abroad."
Check out my piece on TPS with David Leblang and Tom Jawetz with CNN
www.cnn.com/2023/10/05/o...
Check out my piece on TPS with David Leblang and Tom Jawetz with CNN
www.cnn.com/2023/10/05/o...
The Biden administration has extended TPS to more Venezuelans, offering them legal labor market access in the US. In research with David Leblang, we find that TPS helps migrants send remittances home, and if anything, reduces subsequent migration. www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/n...
U.S. Will Allow Nearly 500,000 Venezuelan Migrants to Work Legally
The move, announced late Wednesday, followed intense lobbying by New York Democrats before and during President Biden’s visit to New York City this week.
www.nytimes.com
September 21, 2023 at 4:11 AM
The Biden administration has extended TPS to more Venezuelans, offering them legal labor market access in the US. In research with David Leblang, we find that TPS helps migrants send remittances home, and if anything, reduces subsequent migration. www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/n...