Shirin Ali

Republicans Are Ripping a New Giant Hole in the Social Safety Net After punishing hungry people during the government shutdown, the GOP has a new plan to make life harder for the most vulnerable.

“One way to think about the One Big Beautiful Bill is that it could end SNAP in some states, and it certainly ends SNAP as a national entitlement that is there for people in good economic times and bad.” @laurenhlb.bsky.social spoke to @Slate.com’s @shirinali.bsky.social about the OBBBA’s SNAP cuts:

Trump’s “Election Observers” Are a Sign of Something Much Worse on the Horizon None of the election monitors will have much to do. That doesn't mean they’re not damaging.

Richard Hasen: “This is not normal. I do think we have to take seriously the possibility that people are going to have to get around federal troops if they want to be able to vote.” slate.trib.al/PYLBU0T

I Went Door-to-Door With Zohran Canvassers. What People Said Surprised Me. It made me appreciate how messy, fluid, and emotional American politics is.

I tagged along with some canvassers to see what people make of Mamdani in a Queens neighborhood that shifted 12 points toward Trump in 2024. slate.trib.al/jmkjo2j

My latest story with @coribush.bsky.social! A great conversation about tough changes Democrats have to embrace and how to fight with integrity 💪

One Man’s Story Shows Just How Out of Touch Brett Kavanaugh Is And there are too many other stories like this one.

The reality bears no resemblance to Kavanaugh’s rosy description of immigration arrests. slate.trib.al/V6DcEcp

At event in DC, Sen. Chris Van Hollen keeps it going with Hakeem
Jeffries over not endorsing @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social: if you can’t back the kind of campaign he ran, “don’t ask those young people to show up for other Democrats across the country — that’s the message that will be sent.”

Democrats Caved to Keep the Government Open in March. Now They’re Changing Their Tune. Here's how they're looking at it now.

👀
slate.com/news-and-pol...

She Was a Charlie Kirk Disciple. She Knows How Democrats Can Win Back Young Republicans. Stout’s political transformation is instructive for those in this moment wondering how to bridge what seems like an unfathomable political divide.

Caroline Stout (@babybluetx.bsky.social) knows Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA better than most---she used to work there. For @slate.com, she told me what it was like and what Kirk's death means for the future of the far-right:
slate.com/news-and-pol...

my latest: on how the H-1B visa became a symbol of the MAGA coalition's divides, why Trump is charging hopeful immigrant workers an extra $100k, how this plunged Silicon Valley into panic mode, and what this means for Trump's already-fraying relationship with Modi—who's inching closer to China(!)

If you haven't yet read Justice Sotomayor's dissent in yesterday's Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, it is worth taking a few moments to do so tonight. As she notes, the Court's use of the emergency docket to greenlight ICE's use of racial profiling is troubling in part because it is entirely unexplained.

Trump Is Bringing Back One of the Most Reviled Policies of His First Term, in a New Form It forces parents without legal status to make an impossible choice.

Family separation is back...
slate.com/news-and-pol...

The Two-Pronged Attack on a Muslim Judicial Nominee How the smearing of Adeel Mangi became a bipartisan exercise.

This is why the Bove seat was vacant, and there’s a real throughline from the forces that defeated the previous Democratic nominee to where we are today.

www.newyorker.com/news/the-pol...

He’s Backing Losers and Infuriating the DNC. It Might Be Exactly What Democrats Need. David Hogg has had an interesting summer.

David Hogg may be imperfect, but he's on to something:
slate.com/news-and-pol...

Sonia Sotomayor Puts It Clearly: None of Our Rights Are Safe The high court has opened Pandora’s box.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor did not hold back on her colleagues' majority decision today on birthright citizenship. Her dissent was nothing short of scathing, so we highlighted some of the most cutting lines:
slate.com/news-and-pol...

man, Brad Lander is really that guy bsky.app/profile/jool...

Even Donald Trump Is Starting to See the Absurdity of Stephen Miller’s Deportation Targets Trump’s mass deportation plans will continue to go up in smoke, whether he likes it or not.

The delusional presidency
slate.com/news-and-pol...

There’s an Alarming Part of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” You Probably Haven’t Heard Much About Two historic changes in the Republican budget bill haven’t gotten that much attention.

Buried in the news of Republican's Big Beautiful Bill: Major immigration policy. Not only would ICE be given a massive budget increase, but asylum seekers would have to pay $1000 in order to submit an application (it currently costs $0)

slate.com/news-and-pol...

What It Would Look Like If the Trump Administration Got Its Way in the Birthright Citizenship Case The Supreme Court could create a patchwork of citizenship rules that echoes a dark time in the nation's history.

“Babies born on the same day could be citizens in one state, but stateless in the other,”—- the reality of what the Trump admin is asking SCOTUS for

slate.com/news-and-pol...

Is Trump Carrying Out His Mass Deportation Promises? The Numbers Might Surprise You. The administration's extreme methods might obscure this reality.

Immigration updates for the week:
slate.com/news-and-pol...

Voters Are Frustrated. Will Democrats Be Able to Do Something With It? I went to two Democratic events in GOP-held congressional districts to see what new message the party is putting out.

The Democrats' new town hall strategy is certainly interesting, but will it work? I went over to New Jersey and Pennsylvania to find out for myself and one thing was clear: Americans are *very* fed up with Dems.

slate.com/news-and-pol...

Trump Is Talking About Finding Ways to Send U.S. Citizens to Salvadoran Prison The idea once again involves America's new partner in lawless deportations.

As if the past few weeks of breaking news wasn't bleak enough, this week a pro-Palestinian activist was lured to an immigration office for a citizenship interview, only to be arrested upon arrival.

My latest edition of Who Gets to Be American This Week:
slate.com/news-and-pol...

There’s a Reason the Trump Administration Is Fighting to Keep Detained International Students in Louisiana It's a tactical move.

The state's detention facilities have a dark history.

Final_Version_of_Tarrifs_actualFINALcopy_version7_USETHISONE.docx

Democrats Might Finally Be Learning an Important Lesson. Will They Run With It? Will the party do something with this momentum?

👀
slate.com/news-and-pol...

Trump Has Upended the Lives of Afghan Refugees The administration’s cuts to resettlement aid and services are sowing uncertainty and fear among recent arrivals from Afghanistan, many of whom served alongside our military.

The way that refugees are being shut out right now is absolutely tragic and inhumane

newrepublic.com/article/1935...

This Is One of the Most Fundamental Ways Trump Is Trying to Change America. We’re Here to Help You Keep Track. As the battle between the judiciary and the president continues, we've started a new tracker to understand what's really going on.

U.S. immigration is changing in ways we’ve never seen before. It’s confusing and scary, so to help make sense of it all, @slate.com launched a new series Who Gets To Be American This Week?

I’ll be breaking down what you need to know—and our first edition is live today!

slate.com/news-and-pol...

Who Gets to Be an American This Week? Not Some of the People Who Immigrated Legally. As the battle between the judiciary and the president continues, we've started a new tracker to understand what's really going on.

We have a new series called WHO GETS TO BE AN AMERICAN THIS WEEK? led by @shirinali.bsky.social, which explores the many ways Trump is shrinking the definition of "American," often illegally. This week: a broad assault on the rights of *legal* immigrants. slate.com/news-and-pol...

We’re Finally Seeing the “Evidence” Against the Migrants Deported by Trump. It’s Unbelievable. The Trump admin said a soccer player had a gang tattoo. It’s a tattoo of Real Madrid’s logo.

It's clear that the Trump administration denied due process to the migrants it banished to El Salvador *precisely because* any measure of judicial oversight would've proved their innocence immediately.

Deported, imprisoned, and condemned to hard labor—for a soccer tattoo. slate.com/news-and-pol...

The Trump Admin’s New Birthright Citizenship Strategy Could Lead to a Truly Bonkers Result The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on a question that tests the limits of executive power.

slate.com/news-and-pol...

There Are Some Big Problems With This Republican Talking Point. The Constitution, for One. Here’s what the Constitution says.

A clarifying conversation with @immcouncil.org about the GOP's favorite punching bag: sanctuary cities
slate.com/news-and-pol...