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Six Industrial Stocks to Buy for Tapping into Tantalizing Technology Trends

Six industrial stocks to buy are tapping into tantalizing technology trends, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, software and automation.  The six industrial stocks to buy that are fueled increasingly by technology advances that should.

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2 years ago

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Six industrial stocks to buy are tapping into tantalizing technology trends, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, software and automation. 

The six industrial stocks to buy that are fueled increasingly by technology advances that should enable faster growth and capability to adjust to marketplace changes compared to industry rivals. For those reasons, such industrial companies are gaining praise from investment firms.

Not only are industrial stocks using artificial intelligence and other technologies to enhance their business operations, but so are investment professionals in assessing them. Those who are slow to adopt the technology may be slipping behind their competitors without realizing it.

Six Industrial Stocks to Buy Show the Merit of Using Artificial Intelligence

“Trying to invest in the markets today without artificial intelligence is like going into a gunfight with a knife,” said Bryan Perry, who writes the high-yield-focused Cash Machine investment newsletter and the Premium Income, Quick Income Trader, Breakout Profits Alert and Hi-Tech Trader services. “There is considerably more information than what can be analyzed by a person. Aside from traditional fundamental research where emotions can wrongly influence decision making, it is very helpful to have an agnostic model that crunches data while canceling the market noise.”

Perry uses artificial intelligence (AI) to aid him in making recommendation to subscribers of his of Hi-Tech Trader service. With each new recommendation, he uses a score that was generated by the AI technology to give his readers a quantitative measure to reveal whether the new pick is ranked 99, 98, 97, 96 or 95, for example, on a scale that caps at 100.

Paul Dykewicz interviews Bryan Perry, who uses artificial intelligence in Hi-Tech Trader.

Six Industrial Stocks to Buy Gain Recommendations from BofA

The six industrial stocks to buy are using artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software and automation to drive growth. Top management of each of the six stocks to buy offered updates at BofA’s Industrial Software & Automation Summit, Sept. 21-23.

The summit reinforced the view that industrial software/automation are key drivers of growth and sources of investment, BofA wrote in a Sept. 24 research note. This view is consistent with BofA’s view of improving capital expenditure growth driven by “reshoring and automation.”

BofA added that automation is a sector tailwind, particularly for buy-rated companies such as Emerson (NYSE: EMR). The investment firm estimates Emerson has approximately $2.4 billion in software revenue, which includes $1.1 billion of embedded software.

Automation and Software Spur Growth for one of the Six Stocks to Buy

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) offers automation and control software through its DeltaV control applications, operations management software with its Plantweb product and vertical-specific software from its Bio-G in Life Sciences business, BofA wrote. Approximately 35% of software is revenue collected on a subscription basis, with a three- or four-year transition for the remaining portfolio, according to Mark Bulanda, executive president of Emerson Automation Solutions.

Emerson’s Digital Transformation business unit includes hardware, software and services in the areas of sensing, predictive maintenance and analytics. Emerson is adding sales resources focused on information technology and C-level executives to complement its existing relationships.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

Stuart Harris, Emerson’s group president of Digital Transformation, told the BofA event attendees that he is seeing more customers go from piloting new technology to widespread deployments. The company’s digital transformation includes its Plantweb operations management platform that he said is at the heart of Emerson’s Digital Transformation offerings.

The Plantweb Optics capability lets Emerson differentiate by combining first principles models (i.e., how an asset should work) with data-driven analysis that involves machine learning and artificial intelligence. While there are low code options for Plantweb, wider adoption could be ahead for pre-built templates for pumps, compressors, generators, heat exchangers, fans and blowers.

In a deal that closed in October 2020, Emerson paid $1.6 billion to acquire Open Systems International to add grid management software for utilities. An increased mix of renewable energy is driving greater adoption of grid management software. Since only about 35% of utilities have advanced distribution management systems (ADMS), it offers Emerson a good growth opportunity.

Six Industrial Stocks to Buy Led by Emerson

“Emerson Electric is a good stock to own for a number of reasons,” said Bob Carlson, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Virginia’s Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System with more than $4 billion in assets. 

The company’s operations are diversified across industrial and infrastructure sectors of the economy, said Carlson, who also leads the Retirement Watch investment newsletter. Emerson will benefit from economic growth and increased capital spending, he continued.

“It also provides key equipment and services for water systems, and a portion of the infrastructure bill Congress is working on provides money to improve municipal water systems,” Carlson said. “In addition, the company is a steady dividend payer. The yield is 2.09%, and EMR has increased its dividend annually for more than 50 years.”

Emerson Is at the Forefront of Using Technology, Pension Chairman Says

Emerson has been at the leading edge in using technology, even though its business largely is engaged with valves, pressure systems, pumps and other traditionally low-technology products, Carlson continued. However, the company also sells technology that is attractive to companies that are trying to increase their factory automation and supply chain resiliency, which are two trends that are likely to be strong for a while, he added.

Pension fund and Retirement Watch chief Bob Carlson answers questions from columnist Paul Dykewicz.

Honeywell Earns a Spot in the Six Industrial Stocks to Buy

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Honeywell International Inc. (NASAQ: HON), a provider of aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies, along with safety and productivity solutions, also is recommended by BofA. The investment firm’s $270 price objective is based on 20x 2022E enterprise value (EV) / earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

BofA’s target multiple for Honeywell is at a premium to its peers trading at 18x EV/EBITDA on 2021 estimates. The investment firm wrote that such a premium is warranted given a more defensive portfolio that provides Honeywell with resilient margins and above-average earnings per share (EPS) growth.

Potential risks to the BofA price objective on Honeywell are acquisitions, specifically if Honeywell overpays for deals in the pursuit of diversifying and expanding into new, faster-growing, technology-hungry adjacent market, as well as unforeseen future sales slowdowns due to economic pressures. Another possible threat is execution issues due to the company’s ongoing simplification efforts.

“Honeywell shares a lot of the positive traits of EMR,” Carlson said. “Each company has a long history of knowing what it does well and executing extremely well.”

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

Rockwell Ranks Among Six Industrial Stocks to Buy

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based provider of industrial automation and information technology, features brands such as Allen-Bradley and Factory Talk software. It employs more than 23,000 people, serves customers in 100-plus countries and is another of the six industrial stocks recommended by BofA.

The company’s management offered a presentation at the summit that identified its framework as growing its core automation business and its Information Solutions & Connected Services at a double-digit-percentage rate, while pursuing acquisitions focused on software. Rockwell also is oriented to the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, which have been bringing operations back to the United States as the COVID-19 crisis is fought with vaccinations and other preventive measures.

Plus, Rockwell’s FactoryTalk offers a suite of cloud-based offerings to support advanced industrial applications. Rockwell built out the suite with its recent acquisitions of Plex and Fiix.

The purchase of Plex provides cross-selling opportunities for Rockwell. Not only can Rockwell cross-sell Plex to existing customers, but a new pipeline of customers can be obtained synergistically, BofA wrote. Both Rockwell and Plex have leading market positions in North America, BofA noted.

“One of management’s priorities is to grow market share in Asia and Europe,” according to BofA. “Management is also focused on training and enabling its software channel partners.”

Rockwell’s partners include hyperscalers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and software providers such as PTC Inc. (NASDAQ: PTC). Software growth is a priority for management.

One of PTC’s top-level priorities is to grow annual recurring revenue (ARR). The organization is focused on driving software bookings, new customer wins, customer retention and customer satisfaction.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

Software Company PTC Joins Six Industrial Stocks to Buy

PTC Inc. is a Boston-based computer software and services company founded in 1985. The global technology giant has 6,000-plus employees who work in 30 countries, with 1,150 technology partners and generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue. 

The recovery in demand for the internet of Things (IoT) is occurring largely as PTC management expected and has been incorporated into BofA’s fiscal year 2021 guidance. Temporary plant shutdowns and site access limitations have pushed back the recovery trajectory by “a few weeks” but PTC management expressed “zero reason” to alter long-run IoT revenue targets.

PTC is investing in turnkey IoT solutions, with four distinct offerings: real-time production performance monitoring, connected work cell, asset monitoring and utilization, as well as digital performance management (DPM). Among those, DPM is the latest offering, which launched just weeks ago to analyze the end-to-end manufacturing processes from raw inputs to final outputs. The company’s management voiced a goal of providing a turnkey solution that will shorten sales cycles and implementation times, while speeding up adoption by clients.

BofA has given PTC a buy recommendation and a price objective of $160, based on 28x 2022 estimated EV / EBITDA. The valuation is a discount to industrial software peers at around 29x on 2021 estimates, but BofA wrote it is warranted due to below-average EBITDA margin.

Downside risks to the price target could come from significant competition, declines in discrete manufacturing activity, IoT and augmented reality, among other threats, BofA cautioned.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

Fortive Finds Spot Among Six Industrial Stocks to Buy

Everett, Washington-based Fortive Corporation (NYSE: FTV), a diversified industrial technology conglomerate that was spun off from Danaher in July 2016, won a recommendation from BoA as a provider of technologies for connected workflow solutions across a range of markets. Fortive’s strategic segments of Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies and Advanced Healthcare Solutions includes brands with leading positions in their markets.

Fortive is leveraging its industry & customer knowledge for selective acquisitions, and then applying Fortive Business System tools to enhance growth and margins. The company’s businesses design, develop, service, manufacture and market professional and engineered products, software and services. Fortive employs more than 17,000 research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service and administrative team members in 50-plus countries.

Fortive Finishes Acquisition of ServiceChannel to Spur Sales

Plus, Fortive reported on Sept. 1 that it completed its previously announced acquisition of ServiceChannel Holdings Inc. to become an operating company within its own Intelligent Operating Solutions (IOS) segment. ServiceChannel, with more than 500 enterprise customers in over 70 countries, is a global provider of SaaS-based multi-site facilities maintenance service solutions.

“The transaction adds another differentiated, high-growth SaaS asset with an attractive runway to drive increasing profitability and free cash flow, and generate strong returns over the next five years,” said James Lico, Fortive’s president and chief executive officer. “As we look ahead, we have significant capacity and opportunity for additional capital allocation which will continue to strengthen the portfolio and drive double-digit earnings and free cash flow growth over the long-term.”

Fortive’s second-quarter results, ended July 2, produced a 26.7% jump in revenues from continuing operations to reach $1.3 billion, compared to the same quarter a year ago. For Q2 2021, adjusted net earnings from continuing operations were $238.8 million. Diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations for the second quarter, ended July 2, were $0.48.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

Vontier Vaults onto List of Six Industrial Stocks to Buy

Vontier Corp. (NYSE: VNT) is following its customer base with software offerings that aid gas stations in expanding offerings and include electric vehicle (EV) charging networks. Vontier, a manufacturer headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, owns the brands Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Matco Tools and Teletrac Navman, plus subsidiaries Hennessy Industries, Gasboy and Global Traffic Technologies.

BofA gave Vontier a $46 price objective on 11x the investment firm’s 2022 estimated EBITDA. That price target is a discount to the peer average of 18x on 2021 estimates, reflecting slower near-term earnings trajectory, BofA wrote.

But Vontier is not without downside risks. Those potential threats that may not emerge include faster-than-expected drops in U.S.-related revenue, acquisition timing, selection and integration risks, along with greater adoption of electric vehicles hurting demand for retail fueling infrastructure.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

COVID-19 Accelerates the Race to the Cloud

Cloud providers, or “hyperscalers,” such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) through its AWS and Microsoft with its Azure service, are penetrating the industrial market. Despite the size of scale and investment dollars, hyperscalers still lack deep domain expertise, BofA wrote.

Hyperscalers may turn into partners of industrial automation providers that offer “rich domain expertise,” rather than competitors, BofA opined. Even though most providers partner with a single hyperscaler on a preferred basis, many software offerings are Cloud-agnostic, the investment firm added.

What is clear to BofA is the migration of data from on-premise to Cloud and Edge is accelerating post-COVID. Nonetheless, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has proven to be a highly transmissible threat that is gaining close attention from health experts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is blaming the variant for recent spikes in case numbers and deaths, despite increases in the number of people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Sept. 28, 213,752,856 people, or 64.4% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The fully vaccinated total 185,265,856 people, or 55.8%, of the U.S. population, according to the CDC.

COVID-19 cases worldwide, as of Sept. 28, total 232,730,064 and led to 4,764,388 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. U.S. COVID-19 cases hit 43,225,239 and caused 692,561 deaths. America has the dreaded distinction as the country with the most COVID-19 cases and deaths.

The six industrial stocks to buy in pursuit of profits from technology advances should survive the recent dip in the market better than most of its rivals.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of  StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com,  a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The book is great as a gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for special pricing.

The post Six Industrial Stocks to Buy for Tapping into Tantalizing Technology Trends appeared first on Stock Investor.

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President Biden Delivers The “Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President”

President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"

Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through…

Published

18 mins ago

on

March 8, 2024

By

President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"

Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through the State of The Union, President Biden can go back to his crypt now.

Whatever 'they' gave Biden, every American man, woman, and the other should be allowed to take it - though it seems the cocktail brings out 'dark Brandon'?

Tl;dw: Biden's Speech tonight ...

  • Fund Ukraine.

  • Trump is threat to democracy and America itself.

  • Abortion is good.

  • American Economy is stronger than ever.

  • Inflation wasn't Biden's fault.

  • Illegals are Americans too.

  • Republicans are responsible for the border crisis.

  • Trump is bad.

  • Biden stands with trans-children.

  • J6 was the worst insurrection since the Civil War.

(h/t @TCDMS99)

Tucker Carlson's response sums it all up perfectly:

"that was possibly the darkest, most un-American speech given by an American president. It wasn't a speech, it was a rant..."

Carlson continued: "The true measure of a nation's greatness lies within its capacity to control borders, yet Bid refuses to do it."

"In a fair election, Joe Biden cannot win"

And concluded:

“There was not a meaningful word for the entire duration about the things that actually matter to people who live here.”

Victor Davis Hanson added some excellent color, but this was probably the best line on Biden:

"he doesn't care... he lives in an alternative reality."

*  *  *

Watch SOTU Live here...

*   *   *

Mises' Connor O'Keeffe, warns: "Be on the Lookout for These Lies in Biden's State of the Union Address." 

On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden is set to give his third State of the Union address. The political press has been buzzing with speculation over what the president will say. That speculation, however, is focused more on how Biden will perform, and which issues he will prioritize. Much of the speech is expected to be familiar.

The story Biden will tell about what he has done as president and where the country finds itself as a result will be the same dishonest story he's been telling since at least the summer.

He'll cite government statistics to say the economy is growing, unemployment is low, and inflation is down.

Something that has been frustrating Biden, his team, and his allies in the media is that the American people do not feel as economically well off as the official data says they are. Despite what the White House and establishment-friendly journalists say, the problem lies with the data, not the American people's ability to perceive their own well-being.

As I wrote back in January, the reason for the discrepancy is the lack of distinction made between private economic activity and government spending in the most frequently cited economic indicators. There is an important difference between the two:

  • Government, unlike any other entity in the economy, can simply take money and resources from others to spend on things and hire people. Whether or not the spending brings people value is irrelevant

  • It's the private sector that's responsible for producing goods and services that actually meet people's needs and wants. So, the private components of the economy have the most significant effect on people's economic well-being.

Recently, government spending and hiring has accounted for a larger than normal share of both economic activity and employment. This means the government is propping up these traditional measures, making the economy appear better than it actually is. Also, many of the jobs Biden and his allies take credit for creating will quickly go away once it becomes clear that consumers don't actually want whatever the government encouraged these companies to produce.

On top of all that, the administration is dealing with the consequences of their chosen inflation rhetoric.

Since its peak in the summer of 2022, the president's team has talked about inflation "coming back down," which can easily give the impression that it's prices that will eventually come back down.

But that's not what that phrase means. It would be more honest to say that price increases are slowing down.

Americans are finally waking up to the fact that the cost of living will not return to prepandemic levels, and they're not happy about it.

The president has made some clumsy attempts at damage control, such as a Super Bowl Sunday video attacking food companies for "shrinkflation"—selling smaller portions at the same price instead of simply raising prices.

In his speech Thursday, Biden is expected to play up his desire to crack down on the "corporate greed" he's blaming for high prices.

In the name of "bringing down costs for Americans," the administration wants to implement targeted price ceilings - something anyone who has taken even a single economics class could tell you does more harm than good. Biden would never place the blame for the dramatic price increases we've experienced during his term where it actually belongs—on all the government spending that he and President Donald Trump oversaw during the pandemic, funded by the creation of $6 trillion out of thin air - because that kind of spending is precisely what he hopes to kick back up in a second term.

If reelected, the president wants to "revive" parts of his so-called Build Back Better agenda, which he tried and failed to pass in his first year. That would bring a significant expansion of domestic spending. And Biden remains committed to the idea that Americans must be forced to continue funding the war in Ukraine. That's another topic Biden is expected to highlight in the State of the Union, likely accompanied by the lie that Ukraine spending is good for the American economy. It isn't.

It's not possible to predict all the ways President Biden will exaggerate, mislead, and outright lie in his speech on Thursday. But we can be sure of two things. The "state of the Union" is not as strong as Biden will say it is. And his policy ambitions risk making it much worse.

*  *  *

The American people will be tuning in on their smartphones, laptops, and televisions on Thursday evening to see if 'sloppy joe' 81-year-old President Joe Biden can coherently put together more than two sentences (even with a teleprompter) as he gives his third State of the Union in front of a divided Congress. 

President Biden will speak on various topics to convince voters why he shouldn't be sent to a retirement home.

According to CNN sources, here are some of the topics Biden will discuss tonight:

  • Economic issues: Biden and his team have been drafting a speech heavy on economic populism, aides said, with calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy – an attempt to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans and their likely presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

  • Health care expenses: Biden will also push for lowering health care costs and discuss his efforts to go after drug manufacturers to lower the cost of prescription medications — all issues his advisers believe can help buoy what have been sagging economic approval ratings.

  • Israel's war with Hamas: Also looming large over Biden's primetime address is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has consumed much of the president's time and attention over the past few months. The president's top national security advisers have been working around the clock to try to finalize a ceasefire-hostages release deal by Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins next week.

  • An argument for reelection: Aides view Thursday's speech as a critical opportunity for the president to tout his accomplishments in office and lay out his plans for another four years in the nation's top job. Even though viewership has declined over the years, the yearly speech reliably draws tens of millions of households.

Sources provided more color on Biden's SOTU address: 

The speech is expected to be heavy on economic populism. The president will talk about raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He'll highlight efforts to cut costs for the American people, including pushing Congress to help make prescription drugs more affordable.

Biden will talk about the need to preserve democracy and freedom, a cornerstone of his re-election bid. That includes protecting and bolstering reproductive rights, an issue Democrats believe will energize voters in November. Biden is also expected to promote his unity agenda, a key feature of each of his addresses to Congress while in office.

Biden is also expected to give remarks on border security while the invasion of illegals has become one of the most heated topics among American voters. A majority of voters are frustrated with radical progressives in the White House facilitating the illegal migrant invasion. 

It is probable that the president will attribute the failure of the Senate border bill to the Republicans, a claim many voters view as unfounded. This is because the White House has the option to issue an executive order to restore border security, yet opts not to do so

Maybe this is why? 

While Biden addresses the nation, the Biden administration will be armed with a social media team to pump propaganda to at least 100 million Americans. 

"The White House hosted about 70 creators, digital publishers, and influencers across three separate events" on Wednesday and Thursday, a White House official told CNN. 

Not a very capable social media team... 

The administration's move to ramp up social media operations comes as users on X are mostly free from government censorship with Elon Musk at the helm. This infuriates Democrats, who can no longer censor their political enemies on X. 

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers tell Axios that the president's SOTU performance will be critical as he tries to dispel voter concerns about his elderly age. The address reached as many as 27 million people in 2023. 

"We are all nervous," said one House Democrat, citing concerns about the president's "ability to speak without blowing things."

The SOTU address comes as Biden's polling data is in the dumps. 

BetOnline has created several money-making opportunities for gamblers tonight, such as betting on what word Biden mentions the most. 

As well as...

We will update you when Tucker Carlson's live feed of SOTU is published. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/08/2024 - 07:44

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What is intersectionality and why does it make feminism more effective?

The social categories that we belong to shape our understanding of the world in different ways.

Published

19 mins ago

on

March 8, 2024

By

Mary Long/Shutterstock

The way we talk about society and the people and structures in it is constantly changing. One term you may come across this International Women’s Day is “intersectionality”. And specifically, the concept of “intersectional feminism”.

Intersectionality refers to the fact that everyone is part of multiple social categories. These include gender, social class, sexuality, (dis)ability and racialisation (when people are divided into “racial” groups often based on skin colour or features).

These categories are not independent of each other, they intersect. This looks different for every person. For example, a black woman without a disability will have a different experience of society than a white woman without a disability – or a black woman with a disability.

An intersectional approach makes social policy more inclusive and just. Its value was evident in research during the pandemic, when it became clear that women from various groups, those who worked in caring jobs and who lived in crowded circumstances were much more likely to die from COVID.

A long-fought battle

American civil rights leader and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw first introduced the term intersectionality in a 1989 paper. She argued that focusing on a single form of oppression (such as gender or race) perpetuated discrimination against black women, who are simultaneously subjected to both racism and sexism.

Crenshaw gave a name to ways of thinking and theorising that black and Latina feminists, as well as working-class and lesbian feminists, had argued for decades. The Combahee River Collective of black lesbians was groundbreaking in this work.

They called for strategic alliances with black men to oppose racism, white women to oppose sexism and lesbians to oppose homophobia. This was an example of how an intersectional understanding of identity and social power relations can create more opportunities for action.

These ideas have, through political struggle, come to be accepted in feminist thinking and women’s studies scholarship. An increasing number of feminists now use the term “intersectional feminism”.

The term has moved from academia to feminist activist and social justice circles and beyond in recent years. Its popularity and widespread use means it is subjected to much scrutiny and debate about how and when it should be employed. For example, some argue that it should always include attention to racism and racialisation.

Recognising more issues makes feminism more effective

In writing about intersectionality, Crenshaw argued that singular approaches to social categories made black women’s oppression invisible. Many black feminists have pointed out that white feminists frequently overlook how racial categories shape different women’s experiences.

One example is hair discrimination. It is only in the 2020s that many organisations in South Africa, the UK and US have recognised that it is discriminatory to regulate black women’s hairstyles in ways that render their natural hair unacceptable.

This is an intersectional approach. White women and most black men do not face the same discrimination and pressures to straighten their hair.

View from behind of a young, black woman speaking to female colleagues in an office
Intersectionality can lead to more inclusive organisations, activism and social movements. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

“Abortion on demand” in the 1970s and 1980s in the UK and USA took no account of the fact that black women in these and many other countries needed to campaign against being given abortions against their will. The fight for reproductive justice does not look the same for all women.

Similarly, the experiences of working-class women have frequently been rendered invisible in white, middle class feminist campaigns and writings. Intersectionality means that these issues are recognised and fought for in an inclusive and more powerful way.

In the 35 years since Crenshaw coined the term, feminist scholars have analysed how women are positioned in society, for example, as black, working-class, lesbian or colonial subjects. Intersectionality reminds us that fruitful discussions about discrimination and justice must acknowledge how these different categories affect each other and their associated power relations.

This does not mean that research and policy cannot focus predominantly on one social category, such as race, gender or social class. But it does mean that we cannot, and should not, understand those categories in isolation of each other.

Ann Phoenix does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Biden defends immigration policy during State of the Union, blaming Republicans in Congress for refusing to act

A rising number of Americans say that immigration is the country’s biggest problem. Biden called for Congress to pass a bipartisan border and immigration…

Published

19 mins ago

on

March 8, 2024

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President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address on March 7, 2024. Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images

President Joe Biden delivered the annual State of the Union address on March 7, 2024, casting a wide net on a range of major themes – the economy, abortion rights, threats to democracy, the wars in Gaza and Ukraine – that are preoccupying many Americans heading into the November presidential election.

The president also addressed massive increases in immigration at the southern border and the political battle in Congress over how to manage it. “We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it,” Biden said.

But while Biden stressed that he wants to overcome political division and take action on immigration and the border, he cautioned that he will not “demonize immigrants,” as he said his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, does.

“I will not separate families. I will not ban people from America because of their faith,” Biden said.

Biden’s speech comes as a rising number of American voters say that immigration is the country’s biggest problem.

Immigration law scholar Jean Lantz Reisz answers four questions about why immigration has become a top issue for Americans, and the limits of presidential power when it comes to immigration and border security.

President Joe Biden stands surrounded by people in formal clothing and smiles. One man holds a cell phone camera close up to his face.
President Joe Biden arrives to deliver the State of the Union address at the US Capitol on March 7, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

1. What is driving all of the attention and concern immigration is receiving?

The unprecedented number of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border right now has drawn national concern to the U.S. immigration system and the president’s enforcement policies at the border.

Border security has always been part of the immigration debate about how to stop unlawful immigration.

But in this election, the immigration debate is also fueled by images of large groups of migrants crossing a river and crawling through barbed wire fences. There is also news of standoffs between Texas law enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agents and cities like New York and Chicago struggling to handle the influx of arriving migrants.

Republicans blame Biden for not taking action on what they say is an “invasion” at the U.S. border. Democrats blame Republicans for refusing to pass laws that would give the president the power to stop the flow of migration at the border.

2. Are Biden’s immigration policies effective?

Confusion about immigration laws may be the reason people believe that Biden is not implementing effective policies at the border.

The U.S. passed a law in 1952 that gives any person arriving at the border or inside the U.S. the right to apply for asylum and the right to legally stay in the country, even if that person crossed the border illegally. That law has not changed.

Courts struck down many of former President Donald Trump’s policies that tried to limit immigration. Trump was able to lawfully deport migrants at the border without processing their asylum claims during the COVID-19 pandemic under a public health law called Title 42. Biden continued that policy until the legal justification for Title 42 – meaning the public health emergency – ended in 2023.

Republicans falsely attribute the surge in undocumented migration to the U.S. over the past three years to something they call Biden’s “open border” policy. There is no such policy.

Multiple factors are driving increased migration to the U.S.

More people are leaving dangerous or difficult situations in their countries, and some people have waited to migrate until after the COVID-19 pandemic ended. People who smuggle migrants are also spreading misinformation to migrants about the ability to enter and stay in the U.S.

Joe Biden wears a black blazer and a black hat as he stands next to a bald white man wearing a green uniform and a white truck that says 'Border Patrol' in green
President Joe Biden walks with Jason Owens, the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, as he visits the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, on Feb. 29, 2024. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

3. How much power does the president have over immigration?

The president’s power regarding immigration is limited to enforcing existing immigration laws. But the president has broad authority over how to enforce those laws.

For example, the president can place every single immigrant unlawfully present in the U.S. in deportation proceedings. Because there is not enough money or employees at federal agencies and courts to accomplish that, the president will usually choose to prioritize the deportation of certain immigrants, like those who have committed serious and violent crimes in the U.S.

The federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 142,000 immigrants from October 2022 through September 2023, double the number of people it deported the previous fiscal year.

But under current law, the president does not have the power to summarily expel migrants who say they are afraid of returning to their country. The law requires the president to process their claims for asylum.

Biden’s ability to enforce immigration law also depends on a budget approved by Congress. Without congressional approval, the president cannot spend money to build a wall, increase immigration detention facilities’ capacity or send more Border Patrol agents to process undocumented migrants entering the country.

A large group of people are seen sitting and standing along a tall brown fence in an empty area of brown dirt.
Migrants arrive at the border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to surrender to American Border Patrol agents on March 5, 2024. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images

4. How could Biden address the current immigration problems in this country?

In early 2024, Republicans in the Senate refused to pass a bill – developed by a bipartisan team of legislators – that would have made it harder to get asylum and given Biden the power to stop taking asylum applications when migrant crossings reached a certain number.

During his speech, Biden called this bill the “toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country.”

That bill would have also provided more federal money to help immigration agencies and courts quickly review more asylum claims and expedite the asylum process, which remains backlogged with millions of cases, Biden said. Biden said the bipartisan deal would also hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers, as well as 4,300 more asylum officers.

Removing this backlog in immigration courts could mean that some undocumented migrants, who now might wait six to eight years for an asylum hearing, would instead only wait six weeks, Biden said. That means it would be “highly unlikely” migrants would pay a large amount to be smuggled into the country, only to be “kicked out quickly,” Biden said.

“My Republican friends, you owe it to the American people to get this bill done. We need to act,” Biden said.

Biden’s remarks calling for Congress to pass the bill drew jeers from some in the audience. Biden quickly responded, saying that it was a bipartisan effort: “What are you against?” he asked.

Biden is now considering using section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to get more control over immigration. This sweeping law allows the president to temporarily suspend or restrict the entry of all foreigners if their arrival is detrimental to the U.S.

This obscure law gained attention when Trump used it in January 2017 to implement a travel ban on foreigners from mainly Muslim countries. The Supreme Court upheld the travel ban in 2018.

Trump again also signed an executive order in April 2020 that blocked foreigners who were seeking lawful permanent residency from entering the country for 60 days, citing this same section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Biden did not mention any possible use of section 212(f) during his State of the Union speech. If the president uses this, it would likely be challenged in court. It is not clear that 212(f) would apply to people already in the U.S., and it conflicts with existing asylum law that gives people within the U.S. the right to seek asylum.

Jean Lantz Reisz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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