In late 2006, Congress passed a controversial bill that gave the president power to order trials of suspected terrorists in military tribunals, not regular courts, and it denied suspects the right to challenge their detention. But is the law constitutional?

The Senate agreed to an immigration bill that would create a path to citizenship for many of the illegal immigrants in the United States. If some undocumented workers were able to stay, it could allay fears in many families. When undocumented immigrants have children born in the U.S., those children are considered U.S. citizen. If the parents receive a deportation notice, the families often split.

There are more than eight million illegal immigrants in this country. And while there is a lot of discussion about controlling U.S. borders and enforcing the laws, there are also those who say these immigrants are often exploited, and denied basic rights. Are they a drain on the economy -- or poor people deserving compassion?

As Congress worked on the antiterrorism bill, proponents argued that the FBI and police need new tools to keep up with modern technology, while others expressed concern about violating privacy and other rights. Lucky Severson reports on the new search for the right balance between national security and civil liberties.

As the U.S. builds coalitions and deploys troops in response to last month’s attacks, an old moral question has resurfaced: In order to fight a great evil, how much evil do you have to condone? R & E discusses the implications with Nina Shea of the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, Dr. Stephen Morrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Rev. Dr. John Wimberly, Jr. of D.C.’s Western Presbyterian Church.

There is a growing conflict at the U.S.-Mexico border between enforcing the law and helping illegal immigrants in need. Despite walls and patrols, undocumented immigrants continue to pour into the U.S., sometimes under life-threatening conditions. Should churches help the needy, even if they're here illegally?

In Washington and in cities across the U.S., followers of the Falun Gong meditation movement are turning out to express solidarity with besieged practitioners in China. Thousands have been detained since China’s Communist government began last week’s crackdown. This week, Falun Gong literature was confiscated and very publicly destroyed.

Our special report on the life, the plight, and the humor of the Dalai Lama. Forced out of Tibet by the Chinese in 1959, living in exile with little apparent chance of returning, the Dalai Lama remains one of the world's foremost symbols of hope and nonviolence. How does he keep from hating those who are destroying his country?

Ten years after the Tiananmen Square massacre, U.S.-Sino relations are again at a low point, sparked by the mistaken bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade and charges that China stole nuclear secrets. Some activists are concerned the tense political situation will pose increased difficulties for advocacy and human rights, such as religious freedom.