The U.S. and Russia took a fresh stab at winding down the civil war in Syria, announcing a ceasefire agreement to take effect Feb. 27.  Secretary of State John Kerry called the announcement “a moment of promise,” but all sides acknowledge the challenges involved in making the agreement any more meaningful than several failed previous initiatives, especially since the plan does not include ISIS and the Nusra Front.

On Wednesday, President Obama is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House to discuss how the two countries can help with the tide of refugees flowing out of Syria and Iraq. OSPC grantee Human Rights First has sought to pressure both countries to do more, urging the U.S. to increase the number of refugees in its resettlement program and pushing Jordan to “provide refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria with protection in accordance with international law.” HRF is slated to release a new report next week on the increasing dangers Syrian refugees face across the region in light of resettlement backlogs and border closures.

The battle between the FBI and Apple over the government’s request for cooperation in opening a locked iPhone belonging to one of the two assailants in the San Bernardino shootings escalated. FBI Director James Comey wrote a piece on the Lawfare blog, urging all parties to de-escalate but also suggesting that “we could not look the survivors in the eye if we did not follow this lead.” Some of the survivors of the shooting spree also surfaced in news accounts suggesting that they may file a brief in support of the government’s bid to secure Apple’s cooperation in allowing investigators access to the phone.  Apple CEO Tim Cook also went public, noting that his company has been working with the government on the investigation into the terrorist incident but asking that the government withdraw its legal request for their help and suggesting both sides support the creation of an independent commission to study the balance of security and privacy. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security, has indicated plans to introduce a bill creating just such a body in the coming days. Grantee the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which opposes the government’s action, announced support for a number of gatherings around the country in the days ahead, gatherings being convened with Fight for the Future, CREDO, Demand Progress, and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee/Defending Dissent Foundation, among others. One of the protests will target FBI headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Pentagon is preparing to send to Congress a plan to close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay—a goal President Obama has been working on since 2009, and hopes to achieve before leaving office next January. A Miami Herald report indicated that there is a growing imbalance between detainees and authorities at the controversial facility, with 18 guards for every remaining captive.

Edward Snowden, who leaked classified intelligence documents revealing the scope of the federal government’s surveillance programs, gave an interview saying he would be willing to return to the U.S. from his exile in Russia provided he received assurances of a “fair trial.”

The Senate returned to Washington for the first time since the death of the late Antonin Scalia. President Obama worked the phones, consulting with members of both parties. And the Supreme Court returned to work as well, confronting the prospect of making major decisions for the foreseeable future without the benefit of a ninth vote (on Friday, the court declined to intervene in a case in which a lower court ruled invalid a redrawing of North Carolina’s congressional redistricting maps; grantee the Brennan Center decried the resulting confusion, pointing out that the decision would delay primary elections for Congress while allowing nomination contests for every other office in the state, including the presidency, to proceed as scheduled ). Grantees circulated a petition from the League of Conservation Voters calling on Senate Majority Leader McConnell to take up any nomination to fill Scalia’s seat, while the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights developed and disseminated a social media toolkit (#doyourjob) aimed at persuading the Senate to act.

Exit polling data following Donald Trump’s strong victory in Saturday’s South Carolina primary indicate that his supporters regard immigration as a top issue, while supporters of the rest of the field have other more pressing priorities. Marco Rubio, whose second-place finish in South Carolina has helped him garner a number of endorsements following Jeb Bush’s decision to suspend his campaign, announced that he would end the DACA program on his first day in office if elected. There were conflicting accounts of whether Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders emerged from Nevada’s caucuses (which Hillary won 53-47) with an edge among Latino voters, but there was little dispute that turnout among that demographic increased notably over 2008 levels.

Among other grantee activities:

--Puente and others involved in the One Arizona immigration table held a rally outside the state capitol, protesting a bill which would prohibit municipal ID cards unless strict requirements for a state driver’s license are met. The bill, SB 1017, would prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining municipal IDs, which has stirred opposition from the Phoenix City Council as well as the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

--United We Dream launched a campaign with other groups that helped more than 600 people in North Carolina obtain municipal IDs.

--In light of exit polls suggesting that upwards of 70 percent of South Carolina voters supported Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the country, grantees renewed efforts to publicize the #VetsVsHate campaign, deploying military veterans opposed to Islamophobia.

--Just Security wrote on the need to enhance civil liberties protections as the EU discusses border restrictions in the face of the refugee crisis.