US Diplomacy
The number of Americans studying in China is a fraction of what it once was
The US and China want more foreign exchange students between their two countries. But politics and bureaucracy often complicate the process, and far fewer Americans are going to China to study than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
US immigrant visa denials skyrocket under ‘back door’ public charge rule change
More and more aspiring immigrants — especially Mexicans — are being denied visas based on determinations by the US State Department that they might become “public charges” — even if they meet legal requirements to prove they will be financially independent.
Is Airbnb’s no-profit return to the West Bank ‘whitewashing’ human rights violations?
Airbnb announced plans to delist rentals in the occupied West Bank in November, but was quickly engaged in lawsuits that alleged discrimination. The vacation website has reversed their decision, but is again fielding blowback.
Nixon and Reagan tried closing the border to pressure Mexico — here’s what happened
Twice in the last half-century the US has tried to use the border to force Mexico to bend to America’s will. The ruse failed both times. The history suggests that threats of border closure may be politically useful, but are never a real answer to human tragedy.
Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen is the latest departure of the Trump Administration
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has resigned at President Trump’s request. This comes development comes after Trump’s frustration with illegal immigrants and asylum seekers at the Mexican border, which prompted him to recently threaten to close the border. Nielsen oversaw many of Trump’s most controversial immigration policies, including family separations at the border.
How Twitter and other social media can draw the US into foreign interventions
What’s a protester’s best tool? It might just be Twitter. New research suggests that social media sites like Twitter may be one of the game changing factors in protesters winning support from abroad and creating US policy change.