Lok Darjee

Two-term Democratic Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces a difficult Washington state primary in the Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District. Progressive Democrat Brent Hennrich is challenging her over votes aligned with Republicans, including support for election and school-related legislation, while local Democratic leaders accuse her of abandoning party values. Her defenders argue that moderation is essential to retaining the seat and helping Democrats win control of the House. Republican state senator John Braun, endorsed by Donald Trump and the National Republican Congressional Committee, is competitive with Gluesenkamp Perez in polling, raising Democratic concerns that internal divisions could hand the district to a Republican.

Lok Darjee recounts his family’s journey from a Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal to resettlement in the United States and eventual naturalization. Although his reporting has exposed family separation, refugee returns, border-related deaths and the erosion of resettlement programs, he maintains that loving America requires confronting—not ignoring—its contradictions. He distinguishes the country’s democratic ideals from the failures of its institutions, expresses gratitude toward the Idaho community that welcomed his family despite some neighbors later supporting Donald Trump, and argues that patriotism means continuing to expand belonging and make the nation’s promises real.

A Guardian investigation reports that career officials inside the Department of Homeland Security faced polygraph examinations, threats of termination or arrest, forced reassignments, sidelining and buyout pressure after Donald Trump returned to office. Officials say the campaign targeted employees who objected to mass deportations, expanded detention, family separation, offshore transfers and the dismantling of refugee and asylum programs. The department’s civil-rights watchdog was heavily defunded and its investigations largely frozen. Although Markwayne Mullin replaced Kristi Noem as secretary, current employees say Stephen Miller and the White House continue to control immigration policy, leaving little substantive change. The weakened oversight system has also had direct humanitarian consequences, including difficulties securing the return of deported mother Wendy Hernández Reyes after her US-citizen son was murdered.

A federal judge ruled that Donald Trump’s name was unlawfully added to the Kennedy Center and ordered its removal from the building, website and trademark applications within 14 days; Trump criticized the judge and suggested transferring the institution’s management to Congress. The live coverage also reported uncertainty over a potential Iran ceasefire deal, proposed USPS restrictions on vote-by-mail, a Trump order reducing recommended childhood vaccines, Louisiana’s Republican-backed congressional map eliminating a majority-Black district, an FBI arrest connected to an anti-ICE protest, warnings that removing immigration-processing services from Newark airport could cost billions and tens of thousands of jobs, and congressional scrutiny of Pam Bondi over the Epstein files.

Utah’s year-long audit found that 99.72% of more than 2 million registered voters were confirmed US citizens; 27 non-citizens were removed, and 25 probable non-citizens were given time to provide proof. The findings come amid a lawsuit by the Trump administration’s Justice Department, which seeks detailed and private voter-registration data after disputing Utah’s reported voter-removal rate. Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson argues that Utah already maintains its rolls effectively and has refused to provide sensitive information. The administration is also promoting the SAVE Act, which voting-rights advocates warn could burden or disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly in rural, low-income and minority communities.

Liban Mohamed, a 27-year-old Utah-born son of Somali immigrants, narrowly won the Utah Democratic Party convention with 51% of the vote and will face former congressman Ben McAdams and other candidates in the June primary for the state’s newly redrawn First Congressional District. His victory reflects divisions between the Democratic establishment and a younger progressive and immigrant-led movement. Mohamed argues that the district’s diverse population is ready for new representation, while his campaign has gained momentum from opposition to immigration crackdowns and hostility toward Somali Americans. However, he remains an underdog, polling in the single digits and trailing better-funded rivals. Controversies involving other candidates and the district’s more Democratic-leaning boundaries have helped shape the race.

The Trump administration has fired more than 113 immigration judges since January 2025 and pushed others out through buyouts and reassignments, while replacing vacancies with military lawyers and political appointees. Former and current judges say the dismissals and threats over asylum, bond and continuances are undermining judicial independence and pressuring courts to serve mass-deportation goals. The closure of San Francisco’s immigration court, a backlog exceeding 3 million cases and historically low asylum grants have intensified concerns about due process. The administration defends its approach as enforcement of immigration law, but judges and legal groups warn that normalizing executive control over adjudication could damage the broader US system of law.

Nurul Shah Alam, a nearly blind Rohingya refugee, died after CBP released him alone at a closed Tim Hortons in Buffalo during freezing weather without notifying his family or attorneys. His body was found days later, and the Erie County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by complications of a perforated ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. DHS denies that Border Patrol was responsible and calls the account a media and political hoax, while the family, attorneys, lawmakers, and advocates argue that officials ignored established safeguards for a vulnerable detainee. New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating, and the ruling has intensified scrutiny of federal detention and release practices under the Trump administration.

Nurul Amin Shah, a 56-year-old visually impaired Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was found dead in Buffalo five days after immigration agents left him at a Tim Hortons parking lot without notifying his family or attorney. The Erie County medical examiner ruled that he died from complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer worsened by hypothermia and dehydration and classified the manner of death as homicide, while clarifying that the designation does not establish intent or criminal liability. New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Erie County district attorney are investigating the circumstances. Shah’s family and congressional representative Tim Kennedy have called for accountability, while the Department of Homeland Security denies that Border Patrol was responsible and dismisses the finding as politically motivated.

Utah Republicans are escalating efforts to overturn Proposition 4, a voter-approved law creating an independent redistricting commission, after a judge struck down the legislature’s 2021 congressional map. The revised map reunites heavily Democratic Salt Lake County and could give Democrats a chance to win one of Utah’s four House seats. Republican lawmakers have sought to invalidate the ruling through federal litigation, legislation making it harder for voters to withdraw signatures from a repeal petition, and a law expanding the state supreme court. A federal panel rejected the effort to block the new map, but Republicans have qualified a repeal measure for the November ballot, intensifying a broader national fight over redistricting and election rules.

Mohan Karki, a stateless Bhutanese refugee born in Nepal, was deported by ICE to Bhutan after more than nine months in detention, despite never having lived there and facing the risk of persecution, imprisonment or renewed statelessness. His deportation separated him from his wife, Tika Basnet, and their seven-month-old daughter in Ohio. The case highlights a broader Trump administration practice of sending refugees and other migrants to countries with which they have little connection. Advocates and the UN refugee agency warn that Bhutan does not recognize these deportees as citizens, while Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses against Nepali-speaking people in Bhutan. Karki remains in hiding near the Indian border as Basnet works, raises their child and pursues legal and political efforts to bring him back.

Mormon Women for Ethical Government, a 9,000-member bipartisan faith-based group led largely by Utah women, helped challenge Republican lawmakers’ repeal of Proposition 4 and their congressional map that split Salt Lake County and diluted Democratic votes. The group and the League of Women Voters of Utah won their lawsuit, requiring new maps that could enable Utah’s first Democratic congressional victory since 2020. The organization grew from a 2017 Facebook group formed by Mormon women troubled by Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies, and now combines redistricting advocacy with immigration work, media literacy and civic education. Utah Republicans, backed by Trump, are seeking signatures to repeal Proposition 4, setting up a further battle over independent redistricting and executive and partisan power.

Astrid S Tuminez will leave the presidency of Utah Valley University at the end of the semester in May, after nearly eight years leading the institution. Her decision follows the sudden death of her husband, Jeffrey Tolk, and the September 2025 assassination of Charlie Kirk on campus, which placed the university at the center of a national debate over political violence and campus remembrance. Tuminez’s tenure saw enrollment, graduation rates, fundraising and the endowment grow substantially, alongside the creation of new academic centers. She is also concerned that tighter immigration enforcement and a more restrictive US stance toward international students could weaken American higher education and its global influence.

Afghan former air force pilot Ali, who helped US forces and received asylum in the United States, fears deportation and the loss of his chance to reunite with his family after the Trump administration froze asylum and green-card processing, suspended Afghan visas and increased scrutiny of existing approvals. The measures followed the alleged involvement of an Afghan evacuee in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC. Refugee advocates and veterans argue that the administration is unfairly punishing an entire nationality, detaining Afghans and breaking promises to wartime allies, while Ali says he feels betrayed by the country he defended.

Astrid Tuminez, president of Utah Valley University and the institution’s first female leader, returned to campus after Charlie Kirk was shot there while she was grieving the sudden death of her husband. Drawing on her experience of poverty, migration, political upheaval and discrimination, she focused on the trauma experienced by students and staff rather than on Kirk’s political legacy. Tuminez argues that universities should protect even deeply unpopular speech, while drawing the line at incitement to violence. She has launched Better Selves for a Better America, featuring dialogue, mediation, peace conferences and partnerships intended to reduce political polarization. Her vision for UVU centers on affordable education, civic participation and a culture of human connection, with her own legacy defined by how the university responds to violence rather than by memorializing Kirk.

After Charlie Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025, the campus became a national symbol of political violence and polarization. Students describe heightened security, silence and uncertainty, while many who knew little about Kirk want UVU remembered for its welcoming community rather than the killing. Debate over a proposed memorial has intensified, with student activists citing Kirk’s rhetoric toward minorities, immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. University president Astrid Tuminez has urged careful consideration of what a memorial should represent, while students hope the institution’s legacy will center on unity, collaboration and resilience.

Binod Shah, a Bhutanese refugee who built a family, church life and auto-repair business in Twin Falls, Idaho, was deported after criminal convictions triggered the loss of his immigration status. His removal to Bhutan, the country that had expelled his ethnic group, left his wife Stephanie raising their infant son and running the business alone. The case has unsettled local Christian conservatives who supported Trump but view the deportation as inconsistent with family values, Christian teachings and the idea that refugees should be protected after resettlement. Immigration experts and advocates argue that the process imposed a second punishment and may have left Shah effectively stateless, while ICE defended the removal on the basis of his criminal record.

Bhuwan Pyakurel, the first Bhutanese refugee elected to US public office, and his former teacher Kamal Subedi are competing for seats on the Reynoldsburg, Ohio, city council as a Democrat and Republican. Their campaigns have exposed divisions in the Bhutanese diaspora over whether participation in the Republican Party can advance community interests or instead supports a party associated with deportations and cuts to social programs. Pyakurel condemns Subedi’s support for Donald Trump and says he would back him if he denounced Trump, while Subedi argues that refugees should participate in both parties to influence policy and says Republican values align with his religious and family traditions.

Bhutanese refugees in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, once viewed the United States as a secure new home after decades of displacement from Bhutan and refugee-camp life in Nepal. Trump administration policies—including a refugee-entry ban, halted asylum cases, renewed immigration enforcement and deportations—have revived fear and trauma, leaving local support groups overwhelmed and community life diminished. The crackdown has also exposed political divisions: some residents condemn Trump and criticize Democrats such as John Fetterman for failing to defend immigrants, while others support Trump over inflation, border security and national loyalty. Community leaders and younger activists worry that these divisions are eroding solidarity, though some remain hopeful that a new generation can rebuild a shared sense of belonging.

The author, a Bhutanese refugee born stateless in Nepal, condemns the Trump administration’s deportation of more than two dozen legally resettled Bhutanese refugees to Bhutan, the country that expelled and persecuted them. He argues that the deportations retraumatize a community subjected to ethnic cleansing and may violate the international principle of non-refoulement. Drawing parallels between Bhutan’s exclusionary nationalism and threats to US checks and balances, he calls on Democratic leaders to pursue oversight and intervention, while criticizing Republicans for abandoning their former support for refugee resettlement.