The Questions Facing Kristi Noem and ICE
Kristi Noem’s firing as secretary of homeland security came partly because her department bypassed competitive bidding for contracts. An ongoing joint investigation between the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) and New Lines looks at how, under the Trump administration, ICE has used an “urgency stipulation” to privilege favored contractors.
The Dilemmas of America’s Iranian Diaspora
In Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian diaspora in the world, a community fractured by ideology is reckoning with what it means to cheer for a war on your homeland and a government that is rounding up your neighbors.
The New South Asian Power Brokers in the United States
For decades, “South Asian” in the U.S. meant affluent Indian Americans in tech and business tied to corporate power and Hindu nationalism. But Zohran Mamdani’s rise signals a more expansive identity, one that is also working-class, coalition-driven, critical of nationalist politics — and includes Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nepali and Indo-Caribbean communities.
‘Those Who Wrap Themselves in America Are Naked’
A growing debate among Arab leaders and elites reflects deep divisions over the war with Iran, with some blaming the United States for dragging the region into conflict and others stressing the long-standing threat posed by Iran’s expansionism. Both groups agree that the region’s alliance with America is fraught.
Along an Increasingly Tense Border, Calls for Revenge Are Mounting
As the Syrian military deploys along the Syria-Lebanon frontier and tensions threaten to escalate, Syrian families making the crossing home carry memories of Hezbollah's role in their dispossession, and some are calling for scores to be settled.