Yeganeh Torbati

Reporter

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Yeganeh Torbati is a former ProPublica reporter who covered the U.S. federal government. Before joining ProPublica in June 2019, she covered immigration at Reuters. She was the first to reveal in 2018 the Trump administration’s detailed plans to penalize foreigners who use public benefits by making it harder for them to get green cards, and her narrative feature about a library on the U.S.-Canada border that plays host to reunions of families separated by the travel ban was adapted for a segment on “This American Life.”

In her previous role as a national security reporter for Reuters, Yeganeh was part of a reporting team that won a National Press Club award in 2017 for a series on a prisoner swap between Iran and the United States. As a reporter covering Iran, she was part of a Reuters reporting team that uncovered the financial empire controlled by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in 2013. The series received numerous awards including the Gerald Loeb Award and the Overseas Press Club Award.

Yeganeh grew up in Oklahoma, and speaks Persian and Spanish. To securely send Yeganeh documents or other files online, please visit our SecureDrop page.

Trump Administration Officials Warned Against Halting Funding to WHO, Leaked Memo Shows

A draft State Department memo says the move would “cede ground” to China and hobble the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The CDC and WHO Have Already Said Mosquitoes Don’t Spread Coronavirus. Now USDA Will Study It, Too.

An adviser for the American Mosquito Control Association says the possibility of mosquito transmission of the coronavirus is “nil.”

The White House Pushed FEMA To Give its Biggest Coronavirus Contract to a Company That Never Had to Bid

The Trump administration has rushed through more than $760 million in contracts outside the usual bidding process during its haphazard coronavirus response. It’s highly unusual for the White House to step into FEMA’s supply bidding process.

How Tea Party Budget Battles Left the National Emergency Medical Stockpile Unprepared for Coronavirus

Fiscal restraints imposed by Republicans in Congress in the early years of the Obama administration left the U.S. less prepared to respond to the coronavirus pandemic today.

In a 10-Day Span, ICE Flew This Detainee Across the Country — Nine Times

Even as the Trump administration discouraged the public from flying, Sirous Asgari was shuttled from Louisiana to Texas, New Jersey and back on chartered flights full of migrants. He still hasn’t been deported.

The White House Asked Manufacturers for Help, Then Gave Them No Clear Instructions

Vice President Mike Pence wants the private sector to donate critical medical supplies to help during the coronavirus pandemic. But the White House’s chaotic requests have not included consistent information on how exactly businesses can do that.

The CDC Recommends Americans Stay at Home — Unless They Work for the CDC

The Trump administration has reduced remote work across federal agencies, leaving federal workers ill-prepared to cope with the current crisis. Even the CDC has yet to direct employees to work from home.

Millions of Federal Workers Still Waiting on Work-From-Home Order During Coronavirus Pandemic

Public health experts agree that Americans need to stay home as much as possible, but the Trump administration has not yet issued clear guidance to federal workers.

The Trump Administration Calls Iraq Dangerous for Christians — Until It Wants to Deport Them

To deport Iraqi Christians, Trump’s immigration officials rely on testimony saying they won’t be at particular risk. But to justify funding and attention, officials elsewhere in the administration say the Christians face grave danger.

The Trump Administration Gutted the Staff Overseeing $1 Billion in Aid to Iraq. A Watchdog Is Raising Red Flags.

A new report warns that USAID may not be able to effectively oversee $1.16 billion in foreign aid to Iraq — including to Christian groups Vice President Mike Pence’s office favored — after the administration cut much of its on-the-ground staff.

How Mike Pence’s Office Meddled in Foreign Aid to Reroute Money to Favored Christian Groups

Officials at USAID warned that favoring Christian groups in Iraq could be unconstitutional and inflame religious tensions. When one colleague lost her job, they said she had been “Penced.”

The Trump Administration Issues Dozens of Corrections to Its Error-Riddled Immigration Rule

Just weeks before a sweeping immigration policy takes effect, the administration is correcting substantive errors, including ones uncovered by ProPublica that would have had big impacts on military families.

Google Says Google Translate Can’t Replace Human Translators. Immigration Officials Have Used It to Vet Refugees.

Documents shared with ProPublica show that immigration officials have been told to vet refugees’ social media posts using Google Translate. Language experts caution even students against using the service.

The Administration Rushed on a Sweeping Immigration Policy. We Found Substantive, Sloppy Mistakes.

Trump’s new immigration policy applies more harshly to families of U.S. citizens in the military than to families of noncitizens in the military. Experts think it’s an error that suggests officials are pushing policies even they don’t fully understand.

“No Comment”: Emails Show the VA Took No Action to Spare Veterans From a Harsh Trump Immigration Policy

The VA’s approach differs sharply from the Pentagon’s, which won an exemption for active-duty members of the military.

It’s Illegal for Federal Officials to Campaign at Work. A Trump Official Just Did So.

A trend may be emerging after the Trump administration took no action against a “repeat offender,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

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