• AfD’s Remigration Agenda: Germany’s Challenge of Far-Right Extremism

    In November 2023, the German populist, far-right AfD organized a covert meeting in Potsdam which featured the leader of the ethnonationalist Identitarian Movement, Martin Sellner. The attendees, adherents of a conspiracy theory commonly known as the Great Replacement, which claims that there is a deliberate attempt to replace the white European population with migrants of color, debated ways forcefully to deport migrants who failed to assimilate, had non-German lineage, or demonstrated support for asylum seekers.

  • DHS Secretary Mayorkas Impeached by House

    The House, by a one-vote margin, on Tuesday voted to impeach DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In a 214-to-213 vote mostly along party lines, the House impeached Mayorkas for willfully refusing to enforce border laws and breaching the public trust. Mayorkas is the first sitting cabinet secretary in U.S. history to be impeached.

  • Seeking Protection: How the U.S. Asylum Process Works

    Record numbers of migrants seeking to cross the southern U.S. border are challenging the Joe Biden administration’s attempts to restore asylum protections. Here’s how the asylum process works.

  • Illegal Border Crosser on Terror Watchlist Released by Border Patrol, Apprehended Later—What Do We Know?

    The headlines are attention-grabbing, but reality is more mundane: Most people on the terror watchlist are not terrorists. The terror watchlist contains known terrorists, but also people who engaged in conduct related to terrorism, such as fund raising. Individuals on the watchlist who crossed the border illegally have never committed an attack domestically, let alone killed or injured anyone in such an attack. We should be concerned about people on the terrorist watchlist, but we should not immediately assume that they are terrorists planning a domestic attack.

  • Operation Lone Star Border Security Funding Totals More Than Multiple State Budgets

    The Texas legislature has allocated more than $11.6 billion to border security efforts over a four-year period, the most in state history. It totals more than multiple state fiscal year budgets and more than what the Trump administration allocated to federal border security efforts in Texas.

  • Social Media Posts Have Power, and So Do You

    In a healthy democracy, having accurate information is crucial for making informed decisions about voting and civic engagement. False and misleading information can lead to knowledge that is inaccurate, incomplete, or manipulated. Such knowledge can erode trust in democratic institutions and contribute to divisions within society. Fortunately, the ability to identify and resist false and misleading information is not static, because this ability relies on skills that can be learned.

  • Federal Money Could Supercharge State Efforts to Preserve Nuclear Power

    A plant in Michigan might become the first to reopen after closing. The Palisades plant in southwest Michigan could be revived by a $1.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

  • What Do Germany's Migration Partnerships Entail?

    Migration partnerships can’t halt large movements of refugees, but they can help countries to better manage migration. Germany has signed a number of partnerships into effect in recent years.

  • Attributing Biological Weapons Use

    Why is attribution of BW use important? During a biological incident, including BW use, what evidence might provide valuable information to facilitate attribution? What is the state of the science for determining the origin of a biological incident, including BW use? What capabilities does DoD possess or could it develop to facilitate attribution of BW use?

  • The Unlikely Coalition Behind Biden’s Liquefied Natural Gas Pivot

    Climate activists led the charge against LNG exports, but they’re not the only ones celebrating Biden’s pause. A broader, less-climate-concerned coalition, representing thousands of manufacturers, chemical companies, and consumer advocates, has also been quietly pushing for the pause — and stands to benefit if Biden curbs LNG exports.

  • Congress Should Demote the DOE and Unleash LNG Exports

    Late January’s Department of Energy (DOE) move to temporarily pause pending requests to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) outside the United States has elicited not only a firestorm of criticism, but also proposals in Congress to reverse the DOE action. At stake is a burgeoning industry with domestic and international significance, both economically and geopolitically.

  • FBI Foils 2022 Plot by Militiamen to “Start a War” at the Texas-Mexico Border

    A Tennessee man arrested Monday hoped to travel to the southern border with a militia group that allegedly plotted to go “to war with the border patrol,” believing that the country was being invaded by migrants.

  • White House Plans to Improve Supply Chains Is Comprehensive, but Challenge Will Be in Execution

    “Modern supply chains are global,” says an expert. “COVID-19 showed that our supply chains are also fragile, highlighting the need for resiliency. Deeper engagement with allies and partners is to recognize the role of multiple nations in supply chains and coordinate with them for ensuring resiliency.”

  • The Iran Threat Geiger Counter: Reaching Extreme Danger

    The Iran Threat Geiger Counter from the Institute for Science and International Security measures on a regular basis Iran’s hostile actions and intentions toward the United States and U.S. allies, and its capability to turn these hostile intentions into action through the potential or actual construction of nuclear weapons. As with the radiation levels measured by a Geiger counter, any level above zero represents a degree of danger. Since May 2023, the date of the last edition of the Counter, the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program has increased dramatically.

  • U.S.-North Korea Arms Control Talks or Denuclearization? Analysts Are Divided

    As Pyongyang continues to bolster its nuclear and missile programs while refusing to engage with Washington, analysts are divided on whether the U.S. should continue pursuing denuclearization or consider possible arms control options.