Ongoing arguments over U.S. immigration policy play out against concerns about curbing illegal immigration, changing demographics, and maintaining the country's global competitive edge, explains this Backgrounder.

Peter Orszag argues that aggressive action to continue recent slowing in health-care cost growth can help to stabilize the U.S. fiscal trajectory and increase take-home pay.

Gender inequality remains widespread in India. Women could combat it by asserting their rights, says Jagdish N. Bhagwati.

Ellen Bork, director of Democracy and Human Rights at the Foreign Policy Initiative, leads a conversation on the relationship between China and Tibet and the ongoing religious persecution in Tibet.

President Obama and Vice President Biden made these remarks about reducing gun violence on January 16, 2013, before the signing of executive orders which strengthen the background check system, support mental health professionals report threats, and help schools hire more officers and develop emergency preparedness plans.

Edward Alden discusses a new assessment from the Government Accountability Office, which concludes that crossing U.S. borders illegally has become far more difficult than the American public realizes.

Richard N. Haass argues that many of the same issues that we faced in 2012 will continue to be problematic in 2013.

Since 2006, the Mexican government has been in embroiled in a bloody drug war, which has failed to significantly curb trafficking. This Backgrounder looks at Mexico's eradication efforts, along with U.S. policy options for one of its most important regional allies.

Despite the fact that Malala Yousafzai, the fourteen-year-old Pakistani women's rights activist, survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, similar attacks against women, like the one in India, are on the rise. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that these attacks are efforts to stamp out women's progress and the potential of women worldwide will not be realized if this type of violence is tolerated.

A brutal New Delhi gang rape has triggered outrage across India. CFR's Isobel Coleman highlights three things to know about the case, and discusses the larger issue of violence against women in the country.

Peter Orszag explains why and how the federal government should encourage more clinical data registries, which can cut health care costs and improve patient outcomes.

Deep-seated institutional shortcomings are becoming an increasingly significant factor in the injustices suffered by women in India today.

Through an in-depth analysis of modern Mexico, Shannon O'Neil provides a roadmap for the United States' greatest overlooked foreign policy challenge of our time--relations with its southern neighbor.

The founding father of modern Singapore answers the toughest questions that matter most to thoughtful Americans weighing the challenges of the next quarter century.

The November election had many consequences, but few may be as profound as its impact on the likelihood of immigration reform, says Richard N. Haass.

Women have made strides in Afghanistan since 2001, but huge issues still remain. While the United States focuses on withdrawal, Afghan women are still in the fight and will be long after 2014, says Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

The amount of resources the American public and private sectors commit to all forms of welfare is massive -- the fifth highest outlay in the world.

Vladimir Tismaneanu's new book examines the evolving interpretations of communism and fascism.

President Obama gave this press conference at the White House on December 19, 2012.

"To gun control advocates, the opposition is out of touch with the times, misinterprets the Second Amendment, and is lacking in concern for the problems of crime and violence. To gun control opponents, advocates are naive in their faith in the power of regulation to solve social problems, bent on disarming the American citizen for ideological or social reasons, and moved by irrational hostility toward firearms and gun enthusiasts."