• DEMOCRACY WATCHBolsonaro Mulled a Coup: Brazil Military Leaders

    Jair Bolsonaro discussed with the Brazilian military a plan to remain in power after he lost the 2022 presidential election, according to the testimonies of two military officers recorded in federal police documents.

  • DEMOCRACY WATCHBolsonaro, Trump Election Cases Share Similarities, but Not Rulings

    By Liz Mineo

    Donald Trump and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro both posed a serious threat to their countries’ democracies: they both worked hard to diminish voters’ confidence in democracy by routinely denigrating and discrediting their countries’ electoral processes even before a single vote had been cast; each succeeded in persuading many of their supporters to believe in the Big Lie – referring to a fictitious, imaginary “rigged” election as the reason for their loss; and then each tried to stay in power even though both had lost the election. Last June, Brazil’s electoral court blocked Bolsonaro from running for elections for eight years for publicly denying the legitimacy of the 2022 presidential election. The U.S. Supreme Court, sidestepping the question of whether or not Trump engaged in or provided aid and comfort to an insurrection, recently ruled that states cannot bar Trump from running for another term, and that it was a decision for Congress to make. 

  • GUNSCongress Renews Ban on Undetectable Firearms

    By Brian Freskos and Alain Stephens

    Congress has reauthorized the Undetectable Firearms Act, a decades-old law aimed at preventing people from sneaking guns through security checkpoints at schools, airports, concerts, and other public spaces. Lawmakers had been racing to extend the prohibition before it expired on March 8.

  • EXTREMISMGermany's Domestic Intelligence Service Battles Far-Right AfD

    By Marcel Fürstenau

    Germany’s domestic intelligence service is again facing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in court this week. Its job is to safeguard the democratic principles set out in the Basic Law.

  • ELECTION INTEGRITYHow the Electoral College Works to Cabin Fraud and Misconduct

    By Walter Olson

    There are many criticisms of the Electoral College, but a new study shows that it has an important advantage: It reduces the danger that presidential elections will be decided by fraud or misconduct. For example, if we fear an election subversion from on high—say, the governor, state legislature, or county canvassing board —such subversion is likely to run into strong obstacles in a “purple” state, as it did with Trump attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.

  • IMMIGRATIONWhat Biden Can Do After Another Failed Border Deal

    By David J. Bier

    It’s no surprise that before any actual text of the bipartisan immigration bill became public, Trump and his Republican allies in the Senate said they would oppose the bill. Republican senators and the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board say that Trump believes an immigration deal would help Biden win re‐election. To get the politics right, Biden must get the policy right first. He should bet on policy, not politics, to neuter the apocalyptic border rhetoric. Allowing more immigrants to arrive legally will curb the chaos at the order – and it is the only chance to break out of a decade of failed immigration deals.

  • ELECTION INTEGRITYDeep Red Utah Wants to Keep Voting by Mail

    By Matt Vasilogambros

    When it comes to voting by mail, Utah is not your typical deep red state. As Republican-led states seek to limit mail-in voting, Utah stands by its system. Conspiracy theories questioning the integrity of voting by mail in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 election never rang true for most Utahns. They’d been testing the system for years and found it trustworthy and convenient.

  • IMMIGRATIONTwo More Texas Counties Declare Invasion, Bringing Total to 55

    By Bethany Blankley, The Center Square

    Two more Texas counties declared an invasion at the southern border, bringing the total to 55.County judge: ‘I’m tired of’ fentanyl poisonings occurring on weekly basis.

  • IMMIGRATIONBiden Defends Immigration Policy During State of the Union, Blaming Republicans in Congress for Refusing to Act

    By Jean Lantz Reisz

    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. 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 a 2023 court ruling that Title 42 could no longer be used since the public health emergency had ended. 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.

  • ENCRYPTIONEuropean Court of Human Rights Confirms: Weakening Encryption Violates Fundamental Rights

    By Christoph Schmon

    In a milestone judgment—Podchasov v. Russia—the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that weakening of encryption can lead to general and indiscriminate surveillance of the communications of all users and violates the human right to privacy.

  • BORDER SECURITYWithin Hours of Appeal, Supreme Court Stays Appellate Ruling on Texas Border Bill

    By Bethany Blankley, The Center Square

    Within hours of a federal appeals court decision Monday allowing a new Texas law to stand that makes illegal entry into the state from a foreign nation a state crime, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito stayed the appellate court’s decision. Alito’s ruling prevents the law from going into effect on March 5, as originally intended, or on March 11, as the Fifth Circuit ruled unless the Supreme Court intervened.

  • BORDER SECURITYThe Crisis at the Border: A Primer for Confused Americans

    By Elina Treyger and Shelly Culbertson

    The volume of migrants arriving at the border without prior authorization—a historic high of 3.2 million encounters in fiscal year 2023—is indeed record-breaking. Migrants now hail from a greater diversity of countries than in the past and consist of more families and children.

  • CHINA WATCHU.S. Lobbyists Drop Chinese Clients Amid Tightened Scrutiny

    By Xiaoshan Xue

    Lobbying firms in Washington are reportedly rushing to drop clients from China as lawmakers look to tighten scrutiny. The push comes in the wake of a surge in Chinese lobbying in recent years and growing concerns about China’s influence. Legislators aim to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from using gray areas to secretly advance policy agendas that harm the interests of the American people.

  • BORDER SECURITYAppeals Court Reverses Order Blocking Texas Immigration Law, Setting Up Supreme Court Showdown

    By Uriel J. García

    The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Saturday reversed a lower court’s ruling that halted a new state law allowing Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t intervene in the coming days, the law making illegal entry a state crime could go into effect this weekend.

  • IMMIGRATIONFederal Judge Blocks Texas Law Allowing Police to Arrest Migrants Suspected of Being in Country Illegally

    By Uriel J. García

    Senate Bill 4 was Texas’ latest attempt to deter people from crossing the Texas-Mexico border amid a surge in migration. SB 4 was scheduled to take effect Tuesday. “SB 4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice,” Judge David Ezra wrote.