Desi Weekly News Digest 

 Politics & Governance 

DOGE News: The Department of Government Efficiency, being run by Elon Musk, has run into quite a few problems

• It appears that the DOGE website is carrying classified information about military and intelligence employees, setting off alarm bells in the US intelligence community. https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-website-posts-classified-information-215218305.html

• Several nuclear specialists with training and security clearances were among those who were fired in a large scale firing of Energy Department employees, and now the department is scrambling to hire them back as they are vital to national interests. However, it is not certain that everyone will come back, given the atmosphere of fear that has pervaded the federal government. https://fortune.com/2025/02/14/doge-firings-nuclear-weapons-specialists-energy-department-layoffs-nnsa-elon-musk/

• The DOGE website has already been hacked and outsiders are able to post updates on it. https://fortune.com/2025/02/14/elon-musk-doge-website-hacked-hackers/

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Resigns Amid Pressure to Drop Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams 

In a high-profile legal shake-up, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams is facing controversy after Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Sassoon resigned following a request to drop the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. The case involves foreign influence concerns. In her resignation letter Sassoon pointed out that the charges were offered to be dropped in return for Eric Adams lending his support to President Trump's immigration policies, a quid pro quo that is illegal as per federal law.(https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2025-02-13/manhattan-us-attorney-sassoon-resigns-after-request-to-drop-eric-adams-case)  

Trump’s Immigration Orders Spark Outrage

President Trump has signed executive orders tightening immigration laws, with harsher measures on asylum seekers and increased deportations. This directly affects South Asian immigrants, especially those on work visas or seeking permanent residency. Advocates fear these policies will disproportionately impact H-1B holders and undocumented workers.  (https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2025/02/trump-executive-orders-immigration/)  

Indian Immigrants Picked Up By Border Control Agents in North Carolina

Agents wearing masks to hide their identity picked up 11 people in Durham North Carolina who were suspected of being undocumented immigrants. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article300287324.html

Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Challenges Trump’s Federal Overhaul

Indian American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam is leading the charge against Trump's plans to shrink the federal workforce, citing concerns about the impact on immigrant professionals in government roles. Subramanyam says he’s already seeing a “brain drain” from the federal government. It’s not a downsizing of government, he says, it’s a “dumbsizing.” “When we talk about Trump getting rid of highly educated employees at federal agencies, that’s not just the income of a working family in our district,” he says. “That is the deterioration of food safety or of security for our country.”https://time.com/7221398/trump-congress-suhas-subramanyam/ 

 Education & STEM 

President Trump Prepares Executive Order to Close the Department of Education

Despite funding for the Department of Education being controlled by Congress, President Trump is planning an executive order to dismantle the agency and will urge Congress to pass a law approving the same.  His pick for Education Secretary, Linda McMahon said she would preserve core initiatives including Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness during her confirmation hearing, but President Trump and DOGE's agenda appears to be to dismantle the department entirely. This move would particularly affect low income areas and minority communities. https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-department-executive-order-8519eaa465385cc13f4ddcae90228dd3

Army Corps Pulls Out of STEM Day After DEI Ban 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrew from a Charleston school’s STEM event due to South Carolina's ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. South Asian students, who are disproportionately represented in STEM fields, could face fewer outreach programs and opportunities in the future due to such policies.  The school's STEM event was to encourage the participation of girls in traditionally male dominated STEM fields like computer science and engineering, and the withdrawal of the Army Corps has alarmed and worried parents. about the signal this sends.https://www.live5news.com/2025/02/12/army-corps-pulls-out-charleston-school-stem-day-after-dei-ban/  

 Economy & Finance 

Consumer Inflation Sees Uptick in January 

Inflation is back on the rise, with consumer prices increasing in January. For South Asian American families and business owners, rising costs of essentials like groceries and rent continue to pose challenges. Many small business owners in the desi community are concerned about higher costs cutting into their margins. (https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/business/us-cpi-consumer-inflation-january/index.html

Suspended Social Security Checks for Retirees Abroad 

Retired South Asian Americans who rely on Social Security while living abroad are facing disruptions in their payments. Many Indian and Pakistani seniors who move back to their home countries for retirement may be affected.  https://moneywise.com/retirement/suspended-social-security-checks-abroad 

 Health & Safety 

Measles Outbreak in One of Texas’ Least Vaccinated Counties 

A measles outbreak in a Texas county with low vaccination rates is raising alarms. "Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities," the state health department said. While Gaines is remarkable for its low vaccination rate, vaccination coverage nationwide has slipped in recent years as vaccine misinformation and hesitancy have taken root. https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/02/measles-outbreak-doubles-in-one-of-texas-least-vaccinated-counties/  

Federal Health Agencies’ Communication Freeze Raises Concerns

A pause in federal health agency communications is causing concern among Bay Area residents. With a significant number of South Asian American doctors and researchers working in public health, the lack of updates could affect patient care and medical research. https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/27/pause-on-communications-from-federal-health-agencies-sparks-concern-in-the-bay-area/  

 Tech & Business  

Elon Musk Ally Mistakenly Gains Power Over U.S. Payment Systems 

A Musk associate was accidentally granted control over a critical U.S. financial system. Given the high representation of South Asians in the fintech and banking sectors, this regulatory lapse could have serious consequences for the industry.  Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that the agency last week “mistakenly” and “briefly” gave a member of Elon Musk’s team the power to alter a sensitive federal payments database, prompting an internal forensic investigation that remains ongoing. The disclosure, made in a series of court filings, undercuts the Trump administration’s repeated public claims that the DOGE team’s access to the federal payments system was limited to a “read-only” basis.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/11/musk-ally-mistakenly-power-alter-payments-system-00203714  

Russell Vought Pushes for Musk-Controlled CFPB Changes  

Russell Vought, a former Trump official, is working with Musk to reshape the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Vought had directed staff to stop virtually all their work, including the supervision that the agency does to check whether companies are following the law. It also instructed staff to cease any pending investigations. CFPB staff members warn that Vought's moves will leave American families exposed to financial abuse.

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/08/nx-s1-5290914/russell-vought-cfpb-doge-access-musk