Jason Matthew Richwine (born April 21, 1982) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his doctoral dissertation entitled "IQ and Immigration Policy," and a
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...
report he co-authored on the economic costs of
illegal immigration to the United States
Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals (aliens) who have entered the United States unlawfully, as well as thos ...
which concluded that passing the
would cost taxpayers more than $6 trillion.
Education
Richwine received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and political science from
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
, graduating in 2004. He then studied at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he received his PhD in 2009 in public policy, with a dissertation entitled "IQ and Immigration Policy".
[ His dissertation stated that illegal Hispanic immigrants to America had lower IQs than non-Hispanic whites, and noted that this disparity persisted for several generations.] The dissertation committee was composed of economist Richard Zeckhauser
Richard Jay Zeckhauser (born 1940) is an American economist and the Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
He holds a BA (''summa cum laude'') and a PhD in economics from Harvard ...
, economist George Borjas
George Jesus Borjas ( born Jorge Jesús Borjas, October 15, 1950) is a Cuban-American economist and the Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has been described as "America’s leading immigr ...
, and Christopher Jencks
Christopher Sandy Jencks (born October 22, 1936) is an American social scientist.
Career
Jencks is currently the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He graduated from Phillips E ...
, the social scientist and editor of ''The American Prospect
''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted to ...
''. Richwine subsequently wrote an article for ''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' defending his dissertation and arguing that the statements it contained about ethnic differences in IQ were "scientifically unremarkable".
Career
Prior to working at Heritage, Richwine worked briefly at the American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...
; while there, he wrote a book review for ''The American Conservative
''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...
'' criticizing Richard E. Nisbett
__NOTOC__
Richard Eugene Nisbett (born June 1, 1941) is an American social psychologist and writer. He is the Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished Professor of social psychology and co-director of the Culture and Cognition program at the University ...
's book ''Intelligence and How to Get It''. In 2010, he wrote two pieces about immigration and crime for the online magazine ''AlternativeRight.com'' in response to a Ron Unz
Ronald Keeva Unz (; born September 20, 1961) is an American technology entrepreneur, political activist, writer, and publisher. A former businessman, Unz became a multi-millionaire in Silicon Valley before entering politics. He unsuccessfully r ...
essay covering the same topic in ''The American Conservative
''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...
''.[ After a study co-authored by Richwine regarding the costs of illegal immigration was released by the ]Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...
, former ''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reporter Dylan Matthews
Dylan Matthews is an American journalist. He is currently a correspondent for ''Vox (website), Vox'', an online media venture.
Professional life
Early writing
In 2004, at the age of 14, Matthews launched a personal blog on politics and other is ...
found the dissertation and wrote a blog post about it on May 8, 2013.[ Richwine argued that Hispanics and blacks are intellectually inferior to whites and have trouble assimilating because of a supposed genetic predisposition to lower IQ.] Richwine resigned from the Foundation on May 10, 2013.
As of 2017, Richwine had contributed on occasion to ''National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
''. He continued his controversial research, and published an article in the ''American Affairs
''American Affairs'' is a quarterly American political journal founded in February 2017 by Julius Krein. The editors describe the journal as blending the literature and philosophy of the ''Claremont Review of Books'' with the political interests o ...
'' journal entitled "Low-Skill Immigration: A Case for Restriction".
Richwine joined the Heritage Foundation in 2009 after he received his PhD in public policy from Harvard. Titled "IQ and Immigration Policy", he writes on this work:
A later work for the Heritage Foundation released in 2013, of which Richwine is co-author with Robert Rector
Robert E. Rector is a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation focused on poverty issues. Rector has written over 300 reports, articles, and commentaries on public policy and has testified before Congress more than 40 times. His writings include ...
, claims that the immigration reform bill then being weighed in the U.S. Senate would cost the government $5.3 trillion. As a criticism, on May 6, 2013, Dylan Matthews
Dylan Matthews is an American journalist. He is currently a correspondent for ''Vox (website), Vox'', an online media venture.
Professional life
Early writing
In 2004, at the age of 14, Matthews launched a personal blog on politics and other is ...
wrote for ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'': "The study represents the most notable attack on the reform effort to date from a conservative group ... So does the Heritage estimate hold up? Not really. They make a lot of curious methodological choices that cumulatively throw the study into question. It's likely that immigrants would pay a lot more in taxes, and need a lot less in benefits, than Heritage assumes, and that other benefits would outweigh what costs remain."
During the lame duck period of the Trump administration, Trump gave Richwine a position on the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richwine, Jason
1982 births
Living people
American political commentators
American political writers
American social commentators
American University alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Race and intelligence controversy
Writers from Philadelphia