The Justice Department is pushing to strip several terror suspects of their American citizenship as part of a massive denaturalization effort. In recent months, the Trump administration has kicked off a campaign to denaturalize foreign-born United States citizens, securing 15 denaturalization orders as of April. In total, the Department of Justice has filed 35 denaturalization complaints. By comparison, the federal government secured 54 denaturalizations under the Biden administration, the DOJ said. This week alone, the Trump administration filed denaturalization cases against 12 individuals, some of whom are accused of terror ties. Among them is Somali-born Salah Osman Ahmed, 43, who “began providing material support” to the terrorist group al-Shabaab just months after he became an American citizen in 2007, according to the Justice Department. At one point, Ahmed flew to Somalia to join the U.S.-designated terrorist organization and “fight and kill Ethiopians,” the department said. He pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists in 2009. Under federal law, individuals can be denaturalized if they join a terrorist organization within five years of becoming a citizen. Authorities may also pursue denaturalization in cases where citizenship was obtained through fraud or misrepresentation. Another case involves Khalid Ouazzani, 48, who prosecutors say “was planning—with two men later convicted of trying to bomb the New York Stock Exchange—ways to support Al-Qaeda” as early as 2003, roughly three years before he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. The Trump administration is now pursuing a denaturalization case against him. In 2007, one year after obtaining his citizenship, the Morocco-born man allegedly “sent Al-Qaeda tens of thousands of dollars in financial support with money that he had fraudulently obtained.” The next year, “he took an oath of allegiance” to the terror group. Ouazzani pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaeda in 2010. Ali Yousif Ahmed, 48, an Iraqi national, is also facing denaturalization. He came to the United States in 2009, claiming he and his family were attacked by Al-Qaeda, according to the Justice Department. The Iraqi government contacted the federal government in 2019, requesting that Ahmed be extradited to face criminal charges for the premeditated murder of two Iraqi police officers in 2006. Ahmed was accused of murdering the officers while serving as an Al-Qaeda leader. The Justice Department accused Ahmed of “illegally” obtaining American citizenship by lying “under oath about his criminal and family history.” The Trump administration’s latest crackdown commenced as part of President Donald Trump’s “war on fraud,” with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) “prioritizing those who’ve unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship — especially under the previous administration” for denaturalization. The Trump administration gave USCIS orders to pursue “100-200 denaturalization cases per month,” according to The New York Times.

President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine beginning Saturday, hinting at the possibility of the “beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War.” “I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted Friday on Truth Social, adding that the ceasefire would mark the anniversary of Victory Day in World War II — one of Russia’s most important national holidays. President Trump said the ceasefire will mean the “suspension of all kinetic activity” in a conflict that began in February 2022 and has resulted in more than 2 million casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the details of the ceasefire, adding that “a prisoner exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000” would also take place between Russia and Ukraine. “Within the framework of the negotiating process mediated by the American side, we received Russia’s agreement to conduct a prisoner exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000,” Zelensky wrote on X. “A ceasefire regime must also be established on May 9, 10, and 11. Ukraine is consistently working to bring its people home from Russian captivity. I have instructed our team to promptly prepare everything necessary for the exchange.” Russia had spent weeks lobbying Ukraine for a Victory Day ceasefire, threatening to strike Kyiv if the planned Victory Day parade was disrupted. Ukraine dismissed the ceasefire proposal as “unserious” until Trump intervened and brokered a prisoner exchange. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” Trump said.

Tens of millions of dollars spent by Virginia Democrats to shift the state’s congressional delegation blue may have been for nothing after the state Supreme Court struck down the proposed map on Friday.  Campaign filings show that Virginians for Fair Elections, the leading Democrat-aligned group backing the gerrymandered map, raised more than $64 million between January and April 2026. That total was more than double the amount raised by Republican-aligned groups opposing redistricting.  The map, approved by voters last month, would have shifted the congressional delegation from its current 6-5 Democrat edge to a 10-1 advantage. Virginians for Fair Elections said that the map was necessary “to fight back against Trump’s attempts to rig the 2026 midterm elections.” Much of the money raised came from House Majority Forward, which contributed nearly $39 million, according to campaign filings. The group describes itself as a “progressive, non-profit organization committed to promoting economic growth and opportunity, social justice, environmental stewardship, and democracy in the United States of America.” House Majority Forward is classified as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, meaning it does not have to publicly disclose its donors.  Other similar dark money groups donated millions. The Fairness Project gave more than $12 million, the Fund for Policy Reform donated $5 million, American Opportunity Action contributed $3.6 million, and the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund added $1.5 million. These groups frequently bankroll liberal causes, from abortion to election laws.  Additionally, the Democratic Party of Virginia contributed more than $977,000.  Republican-aligned groups spent around $30 million to oppose the map. After the results of the April referendum, some commentators criticized the Republican Party over the spending gap.  Virginians for Fair Maps raised more than $21 million, while the Per Aspera Policy group contributed $7.2 million to Justice for Democracy’s campaign against the redistricting plan. Conservative commentators mocked the groups for spending so much money on the campaign, only for it to be struck down in a 4-3 decision.  “Democrats incinerated nearly $70 million on an unconstitutional gerrymandering scheme in Virginia,” said Steve Guest, a former spokesman for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). 

Imagine waking up and calling your mother on the phone to say good morning. The phone keeps ringing, but no one answers. After repeated calls, emotions begin to heighten, anxiety sets in, and then panic. That’s how I felt on September 10, 2018, when my mother disappeared. Over seven years later, those feelings still course through my body like it was yesterday. My mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, is a 63-year-old Uyghur retired physician, a woman of deep kindness who devoted her life to healing others. Since 2018, she has been unjustly imprisoned in Xinjiang by the Chinese government, cut off from her family. She is a mother of two American daughters and grandmother to four beautiful granddaughters. Her disappearance came less than a week after her sister Rushan Abbas, a U.S. citizen and prominent Uyghur human rights activist, spoke publicly about Beijing’s persecution and mass detention of Uyghurs. Soon after, the Chinese authorities sentenced her to 20 years in prison for fabricated crimes. This retaliation for my aunt’s advocacy in the United States is a stark example of Beijing’s growing campaign of transnational repression — punishing individuals in China for the actions of their relatives abroad. While families across America gather to celebrate Mother’s Day, my world will remain quiet. There will be no morning phone call to hear my mother’s voice, no chance to tell her how much I love her, and no opportunity for my daughter and nieces to sit in their grandmother’s lap. She has missed first steps, first words, first days of school — years of a family growing up without her. This is my eighth Mother’s Day marked by a physical ache to see my mother’s face and hear her voice. Living in this reality is hard. Every statement from Beijing or Washington, D.C. leaves me wondering if this will finally be the moment of her release. That day has not yet come. In the meantime, I am left to answer an impossible question from my seven-year-old daughter and three nieces, who have never met their grandmother: “Why isn’t she here?” I don’t have a good answer. I tell them that she is good and kind, brave, that she loves them, and wants nothing more than to be here with them. There are moments when the world seems to notice, when hope feels closer. And then those moments pass. But for families like mine, the reality never changes. We are still waiting. Still hoping she is not forgotten. As President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, I’ll be glued to the news. President Trump should boldly raise my mother’s case and secure her unconditional release and safe return home. I also call on Beijing to act first. As a priority political prisoner, releasing her would be a gesture of good faith that costs nothing and restores a family. Her release would not only reunite our family — it would send a powerful message that American families should not bear the cost of Beijing’s transnational repression. My mother is enduring hardships we cannot fully see or understand. We worry about the mental strain of this ordeal and the toll on her body, which suffers from several chronic health conditions. The fragments of information we receive are never enough to ease our pain or change the reality that she is still not home. Instead, they have only deepened my resolve, because staying silent would mean accepting she doesn’t matter. She does. Whatever steadiness and strength that keep me going come from my mother herself — from her quiet courage, her compassion, and the love with which she raised me. I hold on to the hope that one day, we will be reunited. Until then, I will keep speaking and advocating, because she taught me that love is not passive; it shows up again and again, across the years and oceans. If your mom answers the phone this Mother’s Day, please don’t take that for granted. I would give anything to hear that line pick up, and her voice on the other end. *** Ziba Murat is a Uyghur American advocate whose mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, has been imprisoned in Xinjiang since 2018.

The nationwide battle for congressional seats shifted dramatically Friday after Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s Democrat-favored congressional map, even as Republican-led states across the South charge ahead to redraw their own. The Virginia ruling undercuts what Democrats had expected to be a 10-1 advantage in the state’s House delegation. Instead, the map reverts to a narrower 6-5 Democrat edge that was in place before the April special election, giving Republicans a clearer path to compete.  The decision comes on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week striking down requirements for black-majority districts in Southern states, prompting a wave of redistricting efforts in Republican-led states.  Florida and Tennessee have already approved new maps, with more red states likely to follow.  Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved a congressional map expected to hand Republicans control of all nine of the Volunteer State’s congressional districts come November. The map, signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, spreads out the heavily Democratic population centers in Memphis and Nashville across multiple Republican-favorable districts.  The new map is likely to eliminate Tennessee’s lone Democratic seat, currently held by Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis.  In Florida, lawmakers led by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis passed new district lines projected to give Republicans four additional House seats. The changes target Democratic-leaning areas in Tampa, Orlando, and South Florida, aiming to flip those districts to Republican control. Alabama could be next. Lawmakers are considering legislation that would produce a congressional map favoring Republicans 6-1, shifting one seat away from Democrats.  Prior to the Supreme Court decision last week, Alabama was forced to maintain one majority-black district and a second with a near-majority black population under an interpretation of the Voting Rights Act that has now been ruled an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.  Lawmakers in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Mississippi are also reviewing potential redistricting plans that could further shift even more seats to Republicans.  President Donald Trump called on states to redraw maps after the Supreme Court decision last week.  “We cannot allow there to be an Election that is conducted unconstitutionally simply for the ‘convenience’ of State Legislatures,” Trump said Sunday. “If they have to vote twice, so be it. We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done. That is more important than administrative convenience. The byproduct is that the Republicans will receive more than 20 House Seats in the upcoming Midterms.”