Qatar’s quiet university influence campaign
Also, border crisis reaches new heights
Editorial Team
November 01, 2023
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Today we’re covering:
🎓 Qatar’s influence on American universities,
🚶🏼 Biden’s record-breaking illegal migration,
🇦🇷 Argentina’s unique presidential candidate 🔒,
And everything else you need to know.
☕️ Welcome back. I’m Ari, and this is Upward News. Every day, our team scours 100s of sources to bring you need-to-know news and insights you won’t find in the MSM—all in 5 minutes. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up here.
INSIDE AMERICA
Border encounters under Biden exceed 10 million
What’s happening: More than 10 million people have tried to enter the U.S. illegally under President Joe Biden — almost 13 times the population of North Dakota. The number is already far greater than that of any presidency.
How many got in? More than 4 million illegal immigrants have been released into the U.S. or evaded capture, the House Judiciary Committee reported this month. Almost 99 percent of those released have not been deported.
Who are they? In recent years, those attempting to migrate illegally have largely been a mix of job seekers, refugees, unaccompanied children who are often trafficking victims, people with criminal histories or ties to terrorism, and more than 1.7 million “gotaways” who have slipped past law enforcement.
The asylum seeker myth: Biden’s “asylum” programs are not what they seem, according to the House’s report. As of March, the Biden administration had only screened 6 percent of so-called asylum seekers for a “fear of persecution” from their home country.
What’s Biden doing about this? Biden’s administration has made minor attempts to increase deportations but still maintains the most permissive border policies in U.S. history. Meanwhile, it manipulates statistics to downplay border encounters and aggressively interferes with state officials’ attempts to address the crisis.
What’s the GOP doing? House Republicans have been trying to impeach Biden’s homeland security secretary for months over his border response. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has promised to lead the charge on border security legislation, which he has supported throughout his time in Congress.
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
🚨 Threat of foreign terrorism is high, FBI says. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that the Israel-Hamas war “has raised the threat of an attack against Americans … to a whole other level.” Wray said “multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for” such attacks already, expressing the concern that extremists in the U.S. might have enough inspiration to commit violence. (Fox News)
💰 Israel reportedly wants to pay Egypt to take refugees. An Israeli news site says the nation has proposed paying off some of Egypt’s crushing debt in exchange for taking refugees from the war against Hamas. The Egyptian president opposes the idea and suggests taking them to Negev in southern Israel, the report said. (Ynet)
🧕 Muslims pressure Biden for Israel ceasefire. The activist group National Democratic Muslim Council promised to turn battleground states “red” in 2024 if the president wouldn’t secure a ceasefire by yesterday. Biden’s “unconditional support” to Israel is a betrayal to Muslim voters, the group’s latter said. (National Democratic Muslim Council)
WHAT WE’RE HEARING
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) signed an executive order on antisemitic hate threats that requires law enforcement agencies to collaborate, safety plans for colleges, and funding toward security for houses of worship. (Fox News)
Speculation is growing that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) might be using shoe inserts or specially crafted shoes to add inches to his height, though his campaign denies it. (Politico)
The White House believes a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel is still possible after meeting with the Saudi defense minister. (Axios)
Investors are being advised to “buy” into the defense sector ad expect large profits amid the Israel-Hamas war. (Responsible Statecraft)
INSIDE AMERICA
Qatar’s quiet university influence campaign
What’s happening: Since 2001, Qatar funneled $4.7 billion to U.S. colleges, including some taxpayer-funded campuses, likely an attempt to buy soft power across the country.
The numbers: These donations include $1.8 billion to Cornell, almost $700 million to Texas A&M, $740 million to Carnegie Mellon, $760 million to Georgetown, and $602 million to Northwestern.
Influence: At Northwestern’s Qatari satellite campus, its leading journalism program signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Qatar state-run media outlet Al-Jazeera to “facilitate knowledge transfer, increase student engagement, and strengthen collaboration.”
Hot take: Al-Jazeera has long featured Muslim Brotherhood voices and has been praised by Hamas. The president of Northwestern’s faculty senate in Qatar even admitted professors there enjoy only “limited academic freedom.”
Zoom out: It’s not just universities. Qatar holds between $750 billion to $1 trillion worth of assets around the world, with investments in Fortune 500 companies and even the Empire State Building.
What’s really going on: Qatar’s goal is to buy influence on as many fronts as possible in America to taint public opinion and turn Israel toxic in policymaking, to spread its brand of political Islam, and to head off any U.S. criticism of its regime.
Why it matters: Qatar is providing a safe haven for some leaders of Hamas right now amid the terror group’s war on Israel— and too many American leaders are looking the other way, perhaps due to the country’s financial ties throughout the American economy.
Javier Milei’s unique run for the Argentinian presidency
The conservative-libertarian could inspire similar candidates around the globe if he’s successful.
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POLL
What is more important to you in 2024?Poll results will be in tomorrow's newsletter. |
POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
What should America be more focused on?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇺🇦 Russia-Ukraine (24)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 🇮🇱 Israel-Hamas (260)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤔 Other (278)
🇺🇦 Russia-Ukraine: “An emboldened victorious Putin is a far bigger threat—not to mention the signal it sends to China.” — Anonymous
🇮🇱 Israel-Hamas: “Russia-Ukraine does not nearly have the potential for regional/global conflict as Israel-Hamas.” — Irvin
🤔 Other: “We are not the world’s police. We can aid our allies but our focus should be on the mess taking place in our homeland.” — Phil
IN THE LOOP
Egypt’s Prime Minister said the country is willing to lose “millions” of its people protecting the Sinai if Israel tries to move refugees there. (Al Arabiya)
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit San Francisco next month to meet with President Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. (CNBC)
Egyptian authorities have agreed to open the Rafah border crossing today to allow injured Palestinians to receive medical treatment. (Ahram Online)
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