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FY 2024 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program Application Period is Open!

The application period for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program will run from April 24 through June 21. The program will provide up to $10 million in grants.

Authorizing Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinians

On Feb. 14, 2024, President Biden issued a Memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security authorizing Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and employment authorization for 18 months for eligible Palestinians.

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Afghan parolees who received the Afghan Parole Information sheet from Customs and Border Protection and did not to go to the government-run locations where vaccination services are provided must attest to their vaccination status.

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Daphne Psaledakis is a foreign policy correspondent based in Washington, D.C., where she covers U.S. sanctions, Africa and the State Department. She has covered the rollout of U.S. sanctions on Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Washington’s efforts to enforce its sanctions and the U.S. response to the conflict in Ethiopia, among other issues. She previously covered European Union politics and energy and climate policy for Reuters in Brussels as part of an Overseas Press Club Foundation fellowship in 2019. Daphne holds a Bachelor of Journalism in Print and Digital News and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies.

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Jewish and pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University accuse school officials of discrimination in competing complaints

Students at Columbia University have filed dueling discrimination complaints as confrontations between pro-Palestinian protesters and counterprotesters continue.

Combined, the two complaints underscore how political tensions over Israel’s military operations in Gaza since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7 have become personal for thousands of students in the U.S.

A class action lawsuit filed Monday in the Southern District of New York accuses the university of violating safety protocols by allowing "extremist protesters" to intimidate Jewish students and “push them off campus” because of safety concerns.

A separate complaint filed Thursday with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights accuses the university of failing to protect students “who have been the target of extreme anti-Palestinian, anti Arab, and Islamophobic harassment on campus since October 9, 2023.”

The harassment includes receiving death threats, being called “terrorists” and other slurs, experiencing harassment while wearing keffiyehs or hijabs and being the targets of doxxing campaigns, according to the complaint.

Columbia students first set up protest encampments on April 17 calling for the university to divest from companies tied to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Within days, the New York City-based protest spread to campuses across the country, sparking hundreds of arrests and drawing the attention of national and international leaders. 

On Thursday, after more than 100 people were arrested at protests at Columbia, Palestine Legal, a Chicago-based advocacy group, filed its complaint demanding an investigation into what it calls the university’s “discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students and their allies.”

The complaint filed Monday on behalf of several Jewish students requests an emergency injunction requiring Columbia trustees to better enforce the school’s code of conduct to allow class members to safely complete the semester in person.

“Indeed, despite its supposed commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Columbia has allowed a small group of fringe demonstrators to target Jewish students and faculty with harassment, hate speech and violence for the sole reason that they are (or appear to be) Jewish. Columbia’s inaction and willingness to allow for such vile conduct is antithetical to fostering an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” according to the complaint. 

“Since its formation, the encampment has been the center of round-the-clock harassment of Jewish students, who have been punched, shoved, spat upon, blocked from attending classes and moving freely about campus, and targeted by pro-terrorist hate speech,” the complaint reads in part.

The plaintiffs seek a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages.

University officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the complaints. Last week, the school began offering virtual learning options for students.“I know that many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy,” university President Minouche Shafik said in a statement Monday. “To those students and their families, I want to say to you clearly: You are a valued part of the Columbia community. This is your campus too. We are committed to making Columbia safe for everyone, and to ensuring that you feel welcome and valued.

Shafik’s statement did not mention Muslim students or Islamophobia.

Antiwar protesters have cautioned against conflating criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza with hate speech. Demonstrators have posted signs at the encampment outlining policies for treating everybody, including counterprotesters, with respect. Their ultimate message, according to student activists, is one of peace. 

But as demonstrations have escalated, both Jewish and Muslim students have said they feel targeted because of their beliefs. 

Some Jewish students told NBC News that they moved off campus or no longer wear items that identify their faith after having been spit on, shoved and harassed. Some Palestinian students say they have been targeted while wearing hijabs or keffiyehs.Columbia student Maryam Alwan said in a statement included in Palestine Legal’s complaint: “As a Palestinian student, I’ve been harassed, doxxed, shouted down, and discriminated against by fellow students and professors — simply because of my identity and my commitment to advocating for my own rights and freedoms.

“I’m horrified at the way Columbia has utterly failed to protect me from racism and abuse, but beyond that, the university has also played a role in this repression by having me arrested and suspended for peacefully protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” she added.

It is difficult to quantify what some have described as a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses. Columbia, which has been a hotbed of protest activity, declined to provide numbers on reported incidents. 

Itai Dreifuss, 25, a junior studying financial economics and neuroscience, served in the Israeli Defense Forces for nearly three years until 2020. Columbia was the only school he applied to after he completed his service. “If it wasn’t going to be Columbia, I didn’t want to go to college,” he said.

His school pride dimmed as confrontations between students supporting the people of Gaza and those supporting Israeli forces escalated. 

Dreifuss, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said that in one instance, shortly after the war started in October, he was walking with an Israeli friend near the campus library speaking in Hebrew when a man spit on his back. 

“It took me a second to realize,” Dreifuss said, adding that he turned to ask the man whether he had spit on him intentionally.

Dreifuss said the man kept repeating, “I know what you’re saying.” He said the man then muttered under his breath that “I would kill you” if they were not in a pair.

“I was just shocked that entire time,” he said.

In another incident, Dreifuss said, a man on Columbia’s campus pulled out a Hamas flag and waved it in his face as he and his friends sang songs of peace.

“He just looked at me and said: ‘Let’s go, Hamas! Let’s go, Hamas!’” Dreifuss said, adding that it was not clear whether the man was a student. “He was in our faces, trying to get a reaction.”

Dreifuss said that his friends sought help from the police and the school’s public safety officers but that they did not receive any support.

“We went to the NYPD, and we went to public safety. Both the physical public safety officers and the office, and nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing to do. They said they couldn’t help with that.”

Campus public safety officials did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.

A New York police spokesperson said the agency does not track data or complaints specific to the university. 

Antisemitism has been rampant across the U.S. since October, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The human rights group said it recorded 3,291 incidents from Oct. 7 to Jan. 7, including assault, vandalism, written and verbal harassment and hate speech.

Anti-Muslim hate incidents — such as employment and education discrimination, hate speech and physical assaults and threats — have also increased, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The nonprofit advocacy group said it received 8,061 complaints nationwide last year, the most in its 30-year history. Nearly half of them were reported in the final three months of the year, the group said.

Chaya Droznik, 22, a junior at Columbia who is not part of the lawsuit, said a demonstrator recently told her that “Oct. 7 is about to be every day for you guys.”

Supporters of the antiwar movement say the antisemitism some students described is not indicative of their broader message. Many of the protesters camped out at universities across the country are Jewish and have hosted large Seders and other actions to denounce Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Cameron Jones, an organizer for Jewish Voices for Peace at Columbia who has been a visible presence at the protest encampment, said he has not experienced antisemitic harassment. His group, which does not support the Zionist movement, observed Passover and Shabbat at the encampment.

“I am a Jewish student right here. I am very present in this environment, and, as a Jewish person who is an organizer for Palestinian liberation on campus, I have felt nothing but safety and love being involved in these spaces,” he said.

Doctoral student Nadia Ali, who is calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, denounced antisemitism and said antiwar messages are increasingly confused with hatred for Israel.

“Palestinians would be the first to relate to that pain,” she said. “It is unacceptable to feel unsafe on campus. But it is important not to conflate the call for justice and peace with antisemitic actions or hate speech.”

Alicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws.

Melissa Chan is a reporter for NBC News Digital with a focus on veterans’ issues, mental health in the military and gun violence.

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Create and add an email signature in Outlook

In Outlook, you can create one or more personalized signatures for your email messages. Your signature can include text, links, pictures, and images (such as your handwritten signature or a logo).

Note:  If the steps under this New Outlook tab don't work, you may not be using new Outlook for Windows yet. Select Classic Outlook  and follow those steps instead.

Create and add an email signature

On the View tab, select   View Settings . 

Select Accounts > Signatures .

Select    New signature , then give it a distinct name.

In the editing box below the new name, type your signature, then format it with the font, color, and styles to get the appearance you want.

Select Save when you're done.

With your new signature selected from the list above the editing box, go to  Select default signatures and choose whether to apply the signature to new messages and to replies and forwards.

Select Save again.

Note:  If you have a Microsoft account, and you use Outlook and Outlook on the web or Outlook on the web for business, you need to create a signature in both products.

Create your signature and choose when Outlook adds a signature to your messages

If you want to watch how it's done, you can go directly to  the video below .

Open a new email message.

Under Select signature to edit , choose New , and in the New Signature dialog box, type a name for the signature.

Under Edit signature , compose your signature. You can change fonts, font colors, and sizes, as well as text alignment. If you want to create a more robust signature with bullets, tables, or borders, use Word to create and format your signature text, then copy and paste it into the Edit signature box. You can also use a pre-designed template  to create your signature. Download the templates in Word, customize with your personal information, and then copy and paste into the Edit signature box. 

You can add links and images to your email signature, change fonts and colors, and justify the text using the mini formatting bar under Edit signature .

You can also add social media icons and links in your signature or customize one of our pre-designed temlates. For more information, see Create a signature from a template .

To add images to your signature, see Add a logo or image to your signature .

Under Choose default signature , set the following options. 

In the E-mail account drop-down box, choose an email account to associate with the signature. You can have different signatures for each email account.

You can have a signature automatically added to all new messages. Go to in the New messages drop-down box and select one of your signatures. If you don't want to automatically add a signature to new messages, choose (none). This option does not add a signature to any messages you reply to or forward. 

You can select to have your signature automatically appear in reply and forward messages. In the  Replies/forwards drop-down, select one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the default option of (none). 

Choose OK to save your new signature and return to your message. Outlook doesn't add your new signature to the message you opened in Step 1, even if you chose to apply the signature to all new messages. You'll have to add the signature manually to this one message. All future messages will have the signature added automatically. To add the signature manually, select Signature from the Message menu and then pick the signature you just created.

Add a logo or image to your signature

If you have a company logo or an image to add to your signature, use the following steps.

Open a new message and then select Signature > Signatures .

In the Select signature to edit box, choose the signature you want to add a logo or image to.

To resize your image, right-click the image, then choose Picture . Select the Size tab and use the options to resize your image. To keep the image proportions, make sure to keep the Lock aspect ratio checkbox checked.

When you're done, select OK , then select OK again to save the changes to your signature.

Insert a signature manually

If you don't choose to insert a signature for all new messages or replies and forwards, you can still insert a signature manually.

In your email message, on the Message tab, select Signature .

Choose your signature from the fly-out menu that appears. If you have more than one signature, you can select any of the signatures you've created.

See how it's done

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Note:  Outlook on the web is the web version of Outlook for business users with a work or school account.

Automatically add a signature to a message

You can create an email signature that you can add automatically to all outgoing messages or add manually to specific ones.

Select Settings   at the top of the page.

Select Mail >  Compose and reply .

Under Email signature , type your signature and use the available formatting options to change its appearance.

Select the default signature for new messages and replies.

Manually add your signature to a new message

If you've created a signature but didn't choose to automatically add it to all outgoing messages, you can add it later when you write an email message.

In a new message or reply, type your message.

If you created multiple signatures, choose the signature you want to use for your new message or reply.

When your email message is ready, choose Send .

Note:  Outlook.com is the web version of Outlook for users signing in with a personal Microsoft account such as an Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account.

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A Proclamation on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month,   2024

     This month, we celebrate the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities, whose ingenuity, grit, and perseverance have pushed our great American experiment forward.

     From Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders whose ancestors have called their lands home for hundreds of years to Asian immigrants who have newly arrived and those whose families have been here for generations — AA and NHPI heritage has long been a part of the history of our great country and a defining force in the soul of our Nation.  As artists and journalists, doctors and engineers, business and community leaders, and so much more, AA and NHPI peoples have shaped the very fabric of our Nation and opened up new possibilities for all of us.  I am proud that they serve at the highest levels of my Administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Ambassador Katherine Tai, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar, who make this country a better place each and every day.  This year, we are also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative and President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, who work across government to advance equity, opportunity, and justice for AA and NHPI communities.

     I have always believed that diversity is our Nation’s greatest strength.  That is why I launched the first-ever National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities.  This strategy works to harness the full potential of these communities — from combating anti-Asian hate to making government services accessible in more languages.  To ensure the legacies of AA and NHPI peoples are properly honored in the story of America, I signed historic legislation that will bring us closer to a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.  I also issued a Presidential Memorandum to consider expanding protections for the Pacific Remote Islands to conserve this unique area’s significant natural and cultural resources and honor the traditional practices and ancestral pathways of Pacific Island voyagers, and I signed the Amache National Historic Site Act to establish a memorial honoring the 10,000 Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated there during World War II.  Throughout my time in office, the First Lady and I have hosted celebrations at the White House that highlight the incredible diversity of AA and NHPI communities, like Diwali and the first-ever White House Lunar New Year celebration.  This year, to ensure that the full diversity of AA and NHPI communities is seen and valued as new policy is being made, we updated the Federal Government’s standards for collecting data on race and ethnicity for the first time in over 25 years. 

     Meanwhile, we are creating new opportunities for AA and NHPI communities by building an economy that works for everyone, including investing in AA and NHPI small businesses and entrepreneurs.  Since I took office, the Small Business Administration provided over $22 billion in loans to AA and NHPI entrepreneurs.  We have seen the results:  During my Administration, we achieved the highest Asian American employment and entrepreneurship rates in over a decade.

      Last year, the First Lady and I witnessed the absolute courage of the Native Hawaiian people and Hawaii’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities when we visited Maui in the wake of the devastating fires.  The destruction upended so many lives, and yet the community showed up ready to help rebuild stronger than before.  My Administration has their backs — we are committed to making sure Maui has everything the Federal Government can offer to heal and build back better and as fast as possible.  Throughout these efforts, we remain focused on rebuilding the way the people of Maui want to build by respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions.

     Racism, harassment, and hate crimes against people of AA and NHPI heritage also persist — a tragic reminder that hate never goes away; it only hides.  Hate must have no safe harbor in America — that is why I signed the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which makes it easier for Americans to report hate crimes, and I also hosted the first-ever White House summit against hate-fueled violence.  We are also working to address the scourge of gun violence, which takes the lives of too many AA and NHPI loved ones.  I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years.  My Administration has taken actions to expand background checks and fund efforts to strengthen red flag laws to keep Americans out of harm’s way.  There is still so much to do, and I continue to urge the Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

     Our Nation was founded on the idea that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.  We have never fully realized this promise, but we have never fully walked away from it either.  As we celebrate the historic accomplishments of AA and NHPIs across our Nation, we promise we will never stop working to form a more perfect Union. 

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2024 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  I call upon all Americans to learn more about the histories of the AA and NHPI community and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

                        JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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