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Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
The news cycle doesn’t slow down, and neither does The Bulwark. Bulwark Takes brings you bite-sized takes on the news of the day from the entire Bulwark team, including Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Bill Kristol, and more.
34 claims · Clear filters
True60% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026Approximately 300,000 to 400,000 people per year obtain permanent residency in the United States through U.S. citizen spouses, parents, or children.Said by BSources consistently show that immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, parents, and minor children) are the largest group of new green card holders, at roughly 40-46% of about 1 million LPRs a year. That works out to roughly 400,000-460,000 a year, a bit above the claimed 300,000-400,000 range but the same order of magnitude, so the claim is approximately supported. The post's own figure of 'three, 400,000' matches the claim, so the extraction is faithful.True85% confidence7 sourcesAug 29, 2026The Trump administration has implemented a ban on immigration from 75 countries.Said by BThe sources confirm the Trump administration implemented a State Department policy in January 2026 that suspended immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, which CNN and the NYT describe as a visa ban. The policy was vacated by Judge Jeannette Vargas on August 21, 2026, so it was in effect as of the August 29 post, though it has since been struck down; the claim's 'ban on immigration' wording is a loose description of a visa-issuance suspension rather than a ban on all immigration.True92% confidence9 sourcesAug 29, 2026The Trump administration has imposed a travel ban on 39 countries in its current term.Said by BThe record consistently shows the second Trump administration's travel ban covers nationals of 39 countries, effective January 1, 2026, from a December 16, 2025 proclamation that expanded the June 2025 ban. The post's 75-country figure is a separate, additional set and does not change the 39-country claim, and the sources confirm the ban as of 2026-08-29.True90% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026A federal judge enjoined the 75-country immigration ban on the Friday prior to.Said by BMultiple sources report that U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York struck down and vacated the State Department's 75-country immigrant visa suspension on Friday, August 21, 2026, which is the Friday before the August 29 post. Calling the ruling an injunction is loose wording, since it was a vacatur, but the core assertion of a federal judge blocking the ban that Friday holds.True85% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026The administration changed student visa durations to a maximum of four years.Said by DDHS finalized a rule, published July 17, 2026, that replaces 'duration of status' with fixed admission periods capped at four years for F and J student visas, as reported by AP and DHS before the August 29 post date. The rule was not scheduled to take effect until September 15, and a federal judge later blocked it on September 14, but that later development does not make the August 29 claim false.True85% confidence8 sourcesAug 29, 2026About half of the people who receive green cards annually are coming from abroad, and half are already in the United States.Said by BMultiple independent sources show that roughly half of annual green card recipients were already in the U.S. and half came from abroad, though the yearly split varies between about 42% and 58% depending on the year and the source. The claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage and matches the record as of 2026-08-29.True80% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026Approximately one million people receive green cards in the United States every year.Said by BMultiple tier1 and primary sources (AP 2025, CRS 2024, MigrationPolicy 2026) state the US grants roughly 1 million green cards annually, so the claim matches the record as of 2026-08-29. Note that USAFacts and DHS data show about 1.32 million issued in FY2025, which is within a reasonable range of 'approximately one million' under the standard measure, and FREOPP notes a 2020 dip to about 707,000, so the figure varies by year and measure.True70% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026Before the Trump administration, there were roughly 1.2 million international students and postdocs in the United States.Said by BThe claim's core figure is supported: Open Doors-based reporting puts international students in the U.S. at about 1.2 million for the 2024-25 academic year, before the Trump administration's 2025 policies took effect. The postdoc addition is not separately quantified as international, but NBER reports about 65,850 postdocs in 2023, most of them temporary residents, so the combined total stays roughly 1.2 million to 1.3 million and no source contradicts it. The extraction faithfully reflects the passage.True90% confidence8 sourcesAug 29, 2026The number of international student applicants for fall 2026 has fallen by 10% based on Common App data.Said by BCommon App's August 2026 report found international first-year applicants fell 10% in the 2025-26 cycle, which covers students applying for fall 2026 entry, and multiple outlets report the same figure. The claim was made on 2026-08-29, after the August 20 release, so it was accurate on that date. The post's own wording ('based on Common Apps... fallen by 10%') matches the record, and the post's '2026' framing is supplied by the sources' description of the cycle.True90% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026In fall 2025, the number of new international students in the United States was 17% lower than the previous year.Said by BThe IIE/State Department Fall 2025 Snapshot reports a 17% decline in new international student enrollments in fall 2025 compared with the prior year, and CNBC, U.S. News and Higher Ed Dive repeat that figure. The claim's wording matches the post, and the post's 'before they'd even been in office' framing is a timing aside the sources do not contest.True75% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026The administration is proposing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applicants.Said by BAs of 2026-08-29, DHS had proposed a $103,265 fee on H-1B cap-subject petitions, which primary sources and wire/tier-2 outlets describe as 'more than $100,000,' so the claim's '$100,000' is a close approximation of the proposal. The earlier $100,000 fee (Sept 2025) was blocked by a federal judge in June 2026, which is context rather than a contradiction, and the claim faithfully tracks the post's reference to the headline.True80% confidence6 sourcesAug 29, 2026President Trump signed a proclamation last fall using the same authority as the Muslim ban to block H-1B applicants unless they paid a $100,000 fee.Said by BSources confirm Trump signed Proclamation 10973 on September 19, 2025, requiring a $100,000 payment with new H-1B petitions unless exceptions applied, which fits 'last fall' as posted. The proclamation rests on INA 212(f), the entry-suspension authority the post links to the Muslim ban, though no source directly compares the two; the 'block all applicants' wording is loose because the fee covers new petitions for workers abroad and has exceptions.