OUR PICKS“One million.” The Private Goal Driving Trump’s Push for Mass Deportations | Nuclear Testing Is a Relic | Executing Economic Security Policy, and more

“One million.” The Private Goal Driving Trump’s Push for Mass Deportations.  (Maria Sacchetti and Jacob Bogage, Washington Post)
Immigration officers and analysts are increasingly skeptical the Trump administration can deport that many immigrants in a single year.

Dropping U.S. Biodefenses: Why Cuts to Federal Health Agencies Make Americans Less Safe  (Stephanie Psaki and Beth Cameron, Just Security)
On April 1, the Trump administration began making sweeping changes to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by firing thousands of staff, some of whom learned of this decision when they arrived at work on Tuesday morning and were not allowed to enter the building. According to HHS, the administration plans to reduce the HHS workforce from 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000. It is also consolidating the current 28 divisions into 15 divisions, and eliminating five of the 10 regional offices in the United States, among other changes.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed these changes as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, citing recent declines in life expectancy, while neglecting to mention that those declines were largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s stated goals are to streamline HHS, save taxpayer money, focus more on chronic illness, and make HHS more responsive and efficient. It claims it can make these reforms without impacting critical services. In practice, however, the administration has cut essential funding that was helping states and cities prepare for outbreaks; reassigned leaders who were stopping biological threats in other countries from spreading; undermined the United States’ ability to quickly review and approve treatments and vaccines during an emergency; and disrupted essential work to create vaccines, tests, and treatments for dangerous diseases. These approaches do not make America healthy. They make America less safe.

Nuclear Testing Is a Relic. Resuming It Would Be Reckless.  (Shawn Rostker, Just Security)
For more than three decades, the United States has refrained from conducting explosive nuclear tests, maintaining a moratorium that has become a cornerstone of global nuclear stability. This self-imposed restraint has not only bolstered the United States’ moral standing but also safeguarded its scientific and strategic advantages. Today, however, proposals to restart nuclear testing are surfacing, driven by claims that testing is necessary to maintain the reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and to project strength amid intensifying global competition. Such arguments miss the mark entirely. Restarting nuclear tests would neither strengthen U.S. security nor compel challengers to submit to U.S. demands. Instead, it would erode decades of progress, hand strategic advantages to adversaries and risk setting off a dangerous cascade of testing around the world.

Beyond Strategy: Executing Economic Security Policy (Chris Diaz and Aroop Mukharji, War on the Rocks)
Imagine a National Security Council where economic officials have a permanent seat. A “pivot to economics” could redefine American power.

Trump Will End Temporary Protections for Afghans and Cameroonians  (Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times)
More than 10,000 people will be put on track for deportation in May and June as a result of the Department of Homeland Security’s action.