As the Trump administration ramps up its attacks on international students and Palestinian activists, Jewish New Yorkers are calling for the release of detained Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested in Vermont when he appeared for what he was told would be a naturalization test. Mahdawi had previously expressed fears that the appointment, which came earlier than usual in the typical naturalization process, could end up being a trap.

We continue our look at the life and legacy of Pope Francis with a focus on his advocacy for migrants’ rights and next steps for selecting his successor, with input from groups like SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “It was clear that the subject of migrants and immigrants wasn’t just one topic among many that he addressed, as all popes might,” says Robert Ellsberg, editor of Pope Francis’s book on migrants and refugees. “It really was a kind of signature of his papacy.

In his last public appearance before he died, Pope Francis addressed Easter Sunday Mass and repeated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza. “Pope Francis’s position on Palestine is just an extension of his theology and pastoral care in general, caring for the marginalized and victims of injustice,” says Reverend Munther Isaac, Palestinian Christian theologian and pastor, who joins us for the second of several segments on Pope Francis.

Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. The Argentinian-born Jesuit had led the Catholic Church since 2013, when he made history by becoming the first pope from Latin America. Francis was a vocal champion for the poor and marginalized, migrants’ rights, and often spoke out about the climate crisis. “When he addressed almost any issue, he would begin with the experience of people at the margins,” says Marie Dennis, director of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.

We speak with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, just back from El Salvador, where he met Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father whom the Trump administration says they forcibly transferred to an El Salvador mega-prison last month by “administrative error.” “We will keep fighting for his constitutional rights, because if we deny the constitutional rights for one person, we threaten them for everybody,” says Van Hollen.

Fatma Hassona, the 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and subject of the upcoming documentary film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, was killed with her family Wednesday by an Israeli missile that targeted her building in northern Gaza. The strike occurred just one day after she learned that the film centered around her life and work had been selected to premiere at the ACID Cannes 2025 film festival. Director Sepideh Farsi remembers Hassona for her talent, integrity and hope.

“These were otherwise healthy school-age children who didn’t have to die.” We speak to the world-renowned pediatrician, virologist and vaccine expert, Dr. Peter Hotez, about the dangerous anti-vaccine agenda of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Amid a growing number of measles cases in the United States, RFK Jr. has promoted skepticism of the efficacy of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.