From the right: Dems’ Empty Immigration Rx

“President Joe Biden’s record on border security is so bad that his own party members regard it as toxic,” roar The Washington Examiner’s editors — and his “refusal to enforce the law inside the country was equally reckless.” On his watch, “the illegal population alone grew by 5.6 million,” thanks not least to those “admitted legally on temporary visas who did not leave after their authorization expired.” Yet “Democrats still oppose detaining migrants arrested for illegally crossing the border and returning them to Mexico.” They also have no answer for “the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who enter legally but then illegally overstay their visas” — “other than to grant them citizenship,” which will only invite “millions more to stay.” “Americans deserve immigration laws that mean what they say, and the only way that happens is through enforcement.”

Rare-Earths beat: Legal Minefield for US Mining

After a “one-year consultation period,” it took another three years for the Bureau of Land Management just to grant A1 Lithium “permission to perform an initial look” at its lithium-mining wells, laments National Review’s Eva Terry — and a lawsuit followed “almost immediately,” so three years later, A1 Lithium CEO Bruce Richardson still didn’t know the project’s status. “Mines take 30 years to go from discovery to first production,” yet their material is used for almost everything. Permitting and lawsuits slow the process; Congress’ Equal Access to Justice Act has made environmental litigation “a lucrative occupation.” That law “definitely needs serious overhaul,” grumbles BLM director Steven Pearce, as it often forces the feds to pay plaintiff attorneys’ fees of as much as “$700 per hour.”

Culture critic: Trans Madness in Child Welfare

“The Yaeli Martinez Child Protection Act is a direct response to the radical transformation of the child welfare system under the Biden administration,” notes Joseph Figliola at City Journal. California authorities took Yaeli from her mom and put her on sex-change hormones; she was dead in three years. Under the bill, “raising a child in accordance with his or her sex does not constitute” abuse, and “trainings that teach” that it is abuse get defunded. Such “activist-derived trainings” enforce pro-trans extremism; “LGBTQ psych­oeducation teachings on the necessity of affirmation and the importance of ‘respectful’ pronoun use are often smuggled into” them. Such trainings thus “function like law, with few opportunities for challenge or redress.”

Trade desk: Clueless Carney’s ‘Chicken’ Choice

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trade-war attempts to “out-Trump” President Trump are “self-defeating,” since “America, with a larger and stronger economy, can absorb more pain than Canada can,” explains The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn. The Fraser Institute’s Jock Finlayson & Steve Globerman warn Carney’s tit-for-tat tariffs “will increase the cost of living for Canadian households but are unlikely to weaken Trump’s tariff fixation.” Meanwhile, McGurn notes, “American industries that rely on Canada for oil, electricity and natural gas” are urging Trump to rethink his “we don’t need them for anything” mindset even as Carney joins the “game of chicken.” “As dumb as tariffs are, retaliating with countertariffs, as Mr. Carney is doing, is dumber.”

Libertarian: Doubts Grow on Colleges’ Value

The public is ever-more unsure if higher education is “worthwhile,” reports Reason’s JD Tuccille: Only 31% of Americans view college as “very important,” vs. 70% in 2013. Why the drop? “Rising costs and political intolerance.” A Vanderbilt report warns of “worrying tendencies” in the humanities and social sciences, generally associated with the “progressive left,” where political goals trump “the advancement of knowledge.” Yes, it’s “possible to get an education that justifies the time and money,” but not “necessarily” via college. Indeed, “trade schools cost a fraction of what four-year colleges cost. And they satisfy a growing demand for skilled workers.” So while colleges “still have a lot to offer,” they must now “compete with alternatives” to persuade “a skeptical public.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board