Improving Racial Equity in Policymaking, Outdated US Privacy Laws, and More

Fixing the U.S. immigration system without Congress, why contact-tracing apps failed, and a way to measure racial equity in policy.

View in browser February 1, 2021   Editor's note: Celebrate the start of Black History Month by joining us at 2:00 PM EST for a discussion on setting a policy agenda for Black Americans, featuring a keynote conversation with Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty and Little Rock Mayor Frank D. Scott Jr. Just as we score policies' budget impact, we should score for racial equity as well   One of Joe Biden's first actions in office was to sign an executive order to advance racial equity. To help advance progress and hold the U.S. government accountable, Andre Perry and Darrick Hamilton call on the Office of Management and Budget to establish a scoring system that measures the racial equity of policies.   Read more   In a new episode of The Current, Perry discusses how the Biden administration is doing on racial equity so far. How our outdated privacy laws doomed contact-tracing apps   The U.S. has no baseline data protection law that would protect the sensitive data obtained through contact tracing apps. Jessica Rich explains that Americans refused to use these apps in large part due to legitimate privacy concerns.   Read more Improving the US immigration system without Congress   President Biden is facing demands from many stakeholders to reform U.S. immigration. Dan Berger, Steve Yale-Loehr, Emily Hindle, and Hun Lee outline four ways that the Biden administration can dramatically improve America's employment-based immigration system.   Read more Help support Brookings with a donation   Brookings is committed to making its high-quality, independent policy research free to the public. Please consider making a contribution today to our Annual Fund to support our experts' work. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here. The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe Manage your newsletter preferences | Receive the Brookings Brief less often