Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Stateless: Living without nationality and basic human rights

Protest to get asylum for stateless people

People advocate for guaranteed asylum for all migrants, asylum seekers and stateless people, and permanent humane shelter for all, a rally in the Netherlands in 2022.

Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Levasov is a founding member of United Stateless.

Georgia, where I live, has joined a number of other states in implementing digital ID technology, meaning you can now save and display your identification on your phone. Eventually, this form of ID could be used to board planes or enter secured facilities like federal courts or prisons.

Georgia’s digital ID tools precede full implementation of the federal Real ID Act, scheduled for May 2025. By then, everyone will need a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.

While most Georgia residents are excited about the new level of convenience that this tech revolution promises to bring, downloading the app to my smartphone brings a flashback from an era when I was not able to possess even a physical means of identification.


I live in Suwanee, a city about 30 miles north of Atlanta, with my wife and daughter, working as an accountant. I am one of the few lucky ones able to push through the bureaucratic nightmare that comes with being stateless and getting U.S. citizenship. Others are not so fortunate.

In simple terms, a stateless person does not have any nationality. Some people are born stateless, while others become stateless. Not having a nationality in essence denies a person basic human rights.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

My personal stateless story started back in early 1990s in Estonia, where a large, Russian-speaking minority group was denied equal access to citizenship. This immediately resulted in a large migration flow from the country. These stateless people traveled to other countries by any means in hopes of obtaining nationality elsewhere.

My story is not unique here in America. A recent study estimates roughly 218,000 residents are either stateless or are at risk of statelessness. While each person has a different story and circumstances, they are all denied their human right to nationality. This leads to lack of access to many basic rights, such as freedom of movement, right to employment and others.

Statelessness is not a widely known issue. Even top universities lack programs to educate future decision makers, lawyers, college professors and human rights activists on this topic. Statelessness affects people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. There are many historical examples. Governments continue denying minorities basic human rights to essentially push them out. To survive, stateless people migrate to other countries and often end up, decades later, in the same situation where they started – still without nationality.

Diagnosing statelessness is an integral component of curing it. Detecting and evaluating these statuses is often complicated and unique to each case, but it is a necessary step in offering protection and a path to citizenship. Just recently the Department for Homeland Security issued new guidance around statelessness, which will now be evaluated and considered a factor in immigration decisions. This is a huge step in the right direction for diagnosing the problem. However, the guidance does not cover all DHS branches and it does not cover those who are currently detained or have already served detention due to their status. These arbitrary detentions occur simply due to the lack of nationality and therefore the impossibility of deportation. This guidance will certainly protect a certain subset of stateless people from future detention but is by no means the permanent cure.

The potential cure is on its way in the form of federal legislation being discussed to extend permanent legal protections to stateless people. The bill, unfortunately, is far from becoming law due to the extreme polarization of our society, where something as trivial as mask-wearing creates a deep social and political divide. We need to look beyond our distinct political affiliations to support basic human rights. This legislation is an opportunity for us to unite rather than divide, to do the right thing.

Lawmakers need to acknowledge the existence of this vulnerable population within their jurisdictions and work towards aligning U.S. laws with existing international human rights standards. The alternative is that stateless people will very soon be denied access to airports and entry to federal facilities, including courts. Right now there are real, valid concerns over digital ID on this front.

In Georgia and across the country, I urge decisionmakers to consider all populations and their ability to obtain identification, regardless of whether they have any nationality.

Read More

Storytelling that exposes injustices and inspires equity
- YouTube

Storytelling that exposes injustices and inspires equity

Stephanie R. Toliver is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction focusing on English Education and Adolescent/Secondary Literacy.

In her research, Toliver employs creativity and imagination to confront systemic inequities and promote more equitable education environments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Black History Matters Act reintroduced amid debate on education and DEI policies

Students in a classroom.

Getty Images, Solskin

Black History Matters Act reintroduced amid debate on education and DEI policies

A year ago, Karsonya Wise Whitehead helped introduce Freedom Schools, a free program dedicated to helping raise student literacy while providing education on Black History for all ages.

Dr. Whitehead—president of the Association for the Study of African American Life (ASALH), which runs the Freedom Schools—works to advance public knowledge about Black history through various programs. According to Whitehead, at least 12 states have direct mandates to teach Black history in schools, but a recent piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) looks to change that.

Keep ReadingShow less
"Diversity," "Equity" and "Inclusion" on wood blocks

"Diversity," "Equity" and "Inclusion" on wood blocks

Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images

Dismantling DEI Reinforces America's Original Sin

When President Trump signed Executive Order 14151, titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," on January 20, 2025, he didn't just eliminate diversity initiatives from federal agencies—he set in motion a sweeping transformation of the federal workforce.

The order, which terminated all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-related activities across federal departments and rescinded existing affirmative action guidelines, sent shockwaves through government institutions and contractors alike. Universities began scrubbing their websites and canceling diversity events, while federal agencies scrambled to dismantle programs built over decades. The order's immediate impact was so concerning that by February 21, 2025, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction, temporarily halting its implementation. But beyond the immediate practical implications, the executive order did something far more insidious: it codified a dangerous myth that America has somehow transcended its need to actively pursue equality.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Power of the Classroom: Why Diversity in Higher Education Matters

A professor assisting students.

Pexels, Andy Barbour

The Power of the Classroom: Why Diversity in Higher Education Matters

After the first class of the semester, a student waited patiently as I answered questions. When he finally stepped forward, he introduced himself, shook my hand, and shared that his high school teacher had advised him to do so. He was the first in his family to attend college, and his family had traveled across the state from their rural town to drop him off. My class was his first college class, and I was his first college professor. His sincerity moved me—I felt the weight of the moment and the privilege of being part of his journey.

A university education is more than lectures and exams; it’s a gateway to opportunity, transformation, and belonging. Diversity in the classroom isn’t just important—it’s essential. As a faculty member who studies leadership in post-secondary education, I see both the challenges and opportunities within higher education. The lack of diversity at top institutions impacts not just who enters our classrooms, but how students experience their education. Representation matters, and universities must reflect the diverse realities of the students they serve.

Keep ReadingShow less