• Mayors grilled on “sanctuary” cities: Congressional Republicans clashed with the Democratic leaders of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York in a Wednesday hearing over U.S. immigration policies. The key concern on both sides is safety. The new administration has arrested nearly 23,000 and deported 18,000 alleged unauthorized migrants. It claims the spike in illegal immigration led to more violent crime. The mayors vow to resist mass deportation without due process. “A city that’s scared is not a city that’s safe,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. – Staff
  • Related Monitor story: Should law enforcement work with ICE? Sheriffs in Colorado, a “sanctuary” state, are torn.
• Arab leaders approve a Gaza plan: Arab leaders adopted an Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza that would cost $53 billion and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave. The effort seeks buy-in from the oil-rich Gulf Arab states as well as international financing. Today, Hamas reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.– Reuters
• Europe to boost defense: The two political parties expected to form the next German government announced €1 trillion ($1.08 trillion) in new borrowing and spending on defense and infrastructure, a major change in Germany’s debt-averse political culture. Today, European Union leaders are holding summit talks on beefing up their own military defenses and making sure Ukraine will still be protected. – The Associated Press
  • Related Monitor story: As its trust in the United States ebbs, Europe is taking a hard look at more defense spending.
• Human smuggling leaders arrested: Federal authorities in Los Angeles arrested two alleged leaders of a criminal organization suspected of smuggling 20,000 people from Guatemala to the U.S. – AP
  • Related Monitor story: Last September, we looked at the rise in human smuggling despite efforts to stem it at the U.S.-Mexico border – and at how indicting traffickers in Guatemala could help.

Even as former anti-Assad rebels adjust to wielding government authority, Syrians are trying to rebuild homes and communities after years of civil war. Standing in their way are severe sanctions. The United States says it is keeping them in place to press Syria’s new rulers to respect human rights and protect ethnic and religious minorities. But the sanctions block equipment, parts, and investment. They’re adding to the challenges facing the interim government and ordinary citizens. “Your home is your nation,” says a man from a town south of Damascus, “and we need to rebuild both.”

Elected to fix the economy, President Donald Trump has enacted policies that are poised to slow it down. He promised lower prices; his tariffs will raise them. It’s a high-stakes move, perhaps premised on the idea that Americans will forgive the short-term pain of tariffs if they realize longer-term economic gains from other reforms. What about global economic shifts, and the responses of other nations? There are several factors that could upset the president’s strategy. The biggest: “uncertainty,” says Andrew Berger, president and CEO of the Indiana Manufacturers Association. “It’s just terrible for business.”

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Moscow has experienced a dramatic return from the diplomatic wilderness. For Russia, the challenge now is to figure out how to exploit the opportunities that have opened up. Mr. Trump appears to have thrown a litany of unilateral concessions Moscow’s way on a variety of global issues, and is pushing for peace in Ukraine on advantageous terms for Russia. The Russian press is gleeful. But Sergei Strokan, a Russian international affairs columnist, counsels caution: “This is just a moment. It’s an extraordinary one ... but things can turn around very quickly.”

Journalism is about pursuing facts, wherever they lead. For reporter Nellie Bowles, the facts took her in a direction that challenged her liberal-leaning colleagues. Disaffected with progressive politics, she’s now an online columnist who skewers hypocrisy and absurdity on both sides of the aisle, a sort of a modern-day Mort Sahl. “My personal politics are totally chaotic,” Ms. Bowles tells the Monitor. “Best described as strong opinions, loosely held. But that’s why I’m ... now mostly a satirist. If I had good political answers to the conundrums of the day,” she says, “I’d be off doing that.”

How much courage does it take to claim your full humanity? In 2017, several Afghan girls tried to travel to the U.S. to participate in a robotics competition. An exuberant new small-budget movie, “Rule Breakers,” tells the team’s story. It’s “Bend It Like Beckham,” but with STEM instead of soccer. What the film does really well, our reviewer says, is showcase teacher and students as models for changing the world. “Knowledge is power,” teacher Roya tells the girls. “This is no longer our fathers’, our grandfathers’ Afghanistan. This is our Afghanistan, too.”

Last week, Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy diverged – publicly and dramatically – on America’s role in ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty. This week, many nations that have looked to the United States for a level of protection are wondering if they might be next.

Perhaps nowhere are the changing calculations over global security more urgent than in Taiwan. China’s threat of invading the island state grows more menacing by the day.

Already, Taiwan’s strategy for dealing with Mr. Trump shows signs of shifting. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s top manufacturer of computer chips, plans to build more facilities in the U.S.

As President Trump alters America’s role in global security, could Taiwan be next? If so, it might be protected by a defense beyond bombs or bullets.

Clearly, Taiwan can see the way the wind is blowing. Mr. Trump saw peace in Ukraine as inextricably linked to his demand for a share of its rare minerals as payment for assistance. Taiwan’s greatest economic resource is its semiconductors. It produces some 90% of the world’s most advanced microchips. Without these chips, many aspects of modern life would grind to a near halt.

And therein lies Taiwan’s great power. Like many nations, Taiwan is ramping up defense spending amid rising uncertainties over security. But its best defense may lie in “what is sometimes known as its “silicon shield.”

For Ukraine, its greatest weapons have been its ingenuity and courage. Its thriving tech culture has provided cybersecurity and a fleet of ingenious drones, while its spirit has struck a defiant note at home and on the battlefield.

The same is true in Taiwan. The silicon shield is not just an economic boon; it binds Taiwan to much of the world in mutual dependence and cooperation – even with China. Much of that comes from the values that drive TSMC – integrity, commitment, innovation, and trust from customers – values that the firm says account for its success.

Because of China’s attempts to isolate Taiwan, “We don’t have so many countries who we consider friends,” Cheng-Wen Wu, Taiwan’s science and technology minister, told the Financial Times. “But then, because of TSMC, Japan and Germany became more friendly to us.” The same is true in the U.S., he added.

Mr. Trump once claimed Taiwan “took” almost all of America’s chip industry. The reality is that “Taiwan simply outcompeted other countries,” Raymond Kuo of the Rand Corp. told The Guardian.

Through innovation, Taiwan has built its strongest defense.