Ilya Somin (@IlyaSomin) / X

Ilya Somin

19.6K posts

Ilya Somin

@IlyaSomin

Law professor; author of Free to Move; Democracy and Political Ignorance; & The Grasping Hand; Volokh Conspiracy blogger.

Arlington, VA

sls.gmu.edu/ilya-somin/

Joined May 2013

Pinned
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Dec 14, 2021
Rev. ed. of my book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom" now available! Addresses pandemic migration restrictions, remote work & other new issues. Kindle version also out (just $9.99). 50% of royalties go to charities for refugees. amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS…
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Oct 16, 2021
Replying to @CarlBeijer
The ignorant American here is you. I’m originally from the former USSR, and I can tell you people hated the bread lines and food shortages. To say nothing of the man-made mass famines in which millions died.
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Feb 9, 2024
I at first thought this must be a mistranslation. But after watching video, I can confirm Putin really said it (I am native speaker of Russian): “the Poles overplayed their hand and forced Hitler to start World War II with them.”
1.9M
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
May 28, 2025
US Court of International Trade just issued decision in case against Trump tariffs filed by @LJCenter and me. All "Liberation Day"/IEEPA tariffs ruled illegal, and blocked by injunction! see link for opinion. I will have much more to say soon: cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/file…
1.1M
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Apr 23, 2025
I’m probably not the first to point out the incongruity of the U.S. being ruled by a Peronist while Argentina is led by a libertarian.
Daniel Di Martino
@DanielDiMartino
Apr 23, 2025
Argentina growing 5.5% for this year 😎
112K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Sep 16, 2025
I’m old enough to remember when conservatives (rightly) pilloried anyone who claims there is a “hate speech” exception to the First Amendment.
178K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Aug 29, 2025
We just prevailed in our case against Trump's massive IEEPA tariffs, in the Federal Circuit! All challenged IEEPA tariffs ruled illegal, but scope of injunction yet to be determined. Will have more to say later. Here is a link to the ruling (7-4 decision by the en banc court):
Liberty Justice Center
@LJCenter
Aug 29, 2025
Statement on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump
185K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Feb 9, 2024
Replying to @IlyaSomin
He continues: “Hitler had no remaining choice but to begin the realization of his plans with [the attack on] on Poland.” Poor Hitler was boxed in by those unreasonable Poles!
44K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Oct 25, 2025
An excellent demonstration of why we shouldn’t give one man the power to impose tariffs whenever he wants.
Erica York
@ericadyork
Oct 25, 2025
Is the new 10% tariff on imports from Canada related to the fentanyl emergency or the reciprocal trade emergency or are hurt feelings also now a national emergency?
48K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Jun 10, 2023
My critique of several different variants of the "Banana Republic" argument against the indictment of Trump. The real banana republic danger is allowing high officials to commit serious crimes with impunity.
Against the "Banana Republic" Critique of Indicting Trump
From reason.com
123K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Jul 21, 2024
In disclaiming Project 2025, Trump says 1) he doesn't know what's in it, and 2) it's too extreme for him. So which is it? If he thinks it's too extreme, that suggests he DOES know what's in it. And if he doesn't know, how can he say it's too extreme?
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
Jul 20, 2024
Replying to @atrupar
Trump on Project 2025: "Some on the right -- severe right -- came up with this Project 25. And I don't even know ... they're sorta the opposite of the radical left ... I don't know what the hell it is ... some of the things -- they're seriously extreme."
00:00
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Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
May 29, 2025
My initial comments on today's big ruling in our case against Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, with key excerpts from the decision:
We Won Our Tariff Case!
From reason.com
233K
Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Aug 9, 2024
Tim Walz’s military record is much better than you think! Under his leadership, Minnesota invaded Wisconsin, conquered Milwaukee and annexed it. The operation was so stealthy that only Laura Ingraham detected it.
aliciasadowski
@aliciasadowski6
Aug 7, 2024
Laura Ingraham: If you know Minnesota well, and I know it well -- especially Milwaukee -- it's changed.
00:00
Readers added context
Milwaukee is in Wisconsin, not Minnesota. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee
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Ilya Somin
@IlyaSomin
Oct 24, 2024
My case for why Harris is a much lesser evil than Trump. No, I don't expect it to swing the outcome of the election! But readers may find it of value as an exercise in how to assess issues and weigh them against each other.
Kamala Harris is a Far Lesser Evil than Donald Trump
From reason.com
81K