Tania Karas

Tania Karas is a former deputy editor of The World's digital team. She managed a team of editors producing content for our website along with our daily podcast, morning newsletter and social media platforms. Before that, she was a reporter for The World covering global migration and refugees. She was with the show from 2018 to 2021.

Originally from Chicago, Tania spent three years in Greece, Turkey and Lebanon working as a foreign correspondent covering the Syrian refugee crisis, European politics and EU-Middle East relations.

Prior to that, Tania was a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal, a daily newspaper, where she covered US immigration, legal education and access to justice in New York.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and a master's degree in international human rights law from the University of Oxford. Outside of work, Tania is a voracious reader and loves to travel. You can often find her starting dance parties in the newsroom. 

Voter registration

Every 30 seconds, a young Latino in the US turns 18. Their votes count more than ever.

The 2020 presidential election could be the first time Latinos are the largest minority group in the electorate. Young Latinos could swing the outcome — if they come out to vote.

Every 30 seconds, a young Latino in the US turns 18. Their votes count more than ever.
A 9-year-old migrant girl from Guatemala sits in the back of a US Border Patrol vehicle after she was apprehended for crossing the border from Mexico in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on June 14, 2018.

10 US immigration issues to watch in 2020

10 US immigration issues to watch in 2020
A woman prays during a service

‘It doesn’t feel very real': Liberian immigrants in US rejoice at pathway to citizenship

‘It doesn’t feel very real': Liberian immigrants in US rejoice at pathway to citizenship
Ramlo Ali Noor, whose immediate family is affected by the Trump administration's cap on refugee numbers, poses at her apartment with her daughter Sumayo in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 27, 2019.

After Trump order, states scramble to say they will receive refugees

After Trump order, states scramble to say they will receive refugees
People hold bright yellow signs reading "Defend TPS" in front of the White House in Washington, DC.

The Trump administration extended TPS for Salvadorans. But this activist says the fight is not over.

The Trump administration extended TPS for Salvadorans. But this activist says the fight is not over.
A group of people holding signs gather in front of a courthouse building

Legal status for thousands of Liberians in US hangs on court decision

Some 4,000 Liberians will lose their legal status due to the Trump administration’s termination of a program that granted them temporary reprieves from deportation. This week, they got their day in court.

Legal status for thousands of Liberians in US hangs on court decision
A woman and a young girl stand together on the banks of a river.

How Trump’s bilateral deals with Central America undermine the US asylum system

For the US, the deals with Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to take back migrants are like a fortification, shielding the country from taking responsibility for people seeking international protection. They add yet another line of defense to other drastic measures the US has recently taken to keep them out.

How Trump’s bilateral deals with Central America undermine the US asylum system
Syrian refugees embrace after landing at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

US refugee agencies wither as Trump administration cuts numbers to historic lows

Resettlement agencies are being forced to close as the Trump administration cuts refugee admissions. Experts say the damage will long outlast this president.

US refugee agencies wither as Trump administration cuts numbers to historic lows
A judge shakes hands with a man at his citizenship ceremony

What it’s like to become a US citizen after a lifetime of statelessness

After 42 years as a stateless Rohingya refugee, one Chicago man became a US citizen this summer.

What it’s like to become a US citizen after a lifetime of statelessness
A member of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) talks with Venezuelans as they queue in line to receive a vaccine after showing their passports or identity cards at the Pacaraima border control, Roraima state, Brazil, on Aug. 8, 2018.

US leads global ‘race to the bottom’ in shutting door on refugees and asylum-seekers

Between the "asylum ban" and cuts to refugee resettlement, advocates say the White House is succeeding in preventing vulnerable people from seeking refuge in the US.

US leads global ‘race to the bottom’ in shutting door on refugees and asylum-seekers
A woman with a blue shirt on is walking past the camera with a large envelop in her hand covering her face.

What difference does one photo make? A lot, at first. Then not much.

A searing image of a man and his daughter facedown in the Rio Grande is a heartbreaking example of the dangers migrants can face on the journey to the US. The picture echoes one of a Syrian boy from 2015.

What difference does one photo make? A lot, at first. Then not much.
An empty water bottle lays on the dirt behind a string of barbed wire

Crimes of compassion: US follows Europe's lead in prosecuting those who help migrants

Prosecutions in the US for those who help migrants with shelter, food, water or transportation are on the rise. It tracks a trend playing out in Europe since its 2015 refugee crisis.

Crimes of compassion: US follows Europe's lead in prosecuting those who help migrants
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on immigration reform at a podium in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, May 16, 2019

Can a ‘merit-based’ immigration system like Canada's or Australia’s work in the US?

In theory, yes. But the US would need to solve other, more pressing immigration problems before reaching a point where it could consider such a major shift.

Can a ‘merit-based’ immigration system like Canada's or Australia’s work in the US?
A group of young Haitians are shown sitting around a table in a room without glass in the windows.

Meet the Petrochallengers: A new generation wants to bring accountability to Haiti. Can they succeed?

Leaders are accused of embezzling well over a billion dollars earmarked for social and development projects in Haiti, fueling protests that shut down the country.

Meet the Petrochallengers: A new generation wants to bring accountability to Haiti. Can they succeed?
US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he travesl to Florida for Easter weekend, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, April 18, 2019.

Mueller Report: Did Trump commit conspiracy? No. But collusion? Maybe.

Mueller’s team focused on evidence of criminal conspiracy, not collusion. The report indicates “numerous links” between the Trump campaign and Russia that may still look like collusion to a layperson.

Mueller Report: Did Trump commit conspiracy? No. But collusion? Maybe.