2019-12-04: News Headlines

Fight Back (2019-12-04). Immigrant rights activists protest ICE detention at Sherburne County commissioners' meeting. fightbacknews.org Elk River, MN – Immigrant rights activists mobilized to the Sherburne County commissioners' meeting at 9: 00 in the morning Tuesday, December 3 in Elk River, a town of around 20,000 people an hour northwest of Minneapolis. They held signs throughout the meeting, and several of them spoke passionately during the public comment section of the agenda, appealing to the commissioners to stop participating in and profiting from immigrant detention in the Sherburne County Jail. | The Sherburne County Jail has a contract for 300 beds to detain immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it the la…

Staff (2019-12-04). McKinsey Has Its Fingerprints All Over Trump's Immigration Policy. truthdig.com ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. | This article is co-published with The New York Times. | Just days after he took office in 2017, President Donald Trump set out to make good on his campaign pledge to halt illegal immigration. In a pair of executive orders, he ordered "all legally available resources" to be shifted to border detention facilities and called for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers. | The logistical challenges were daunting, but as luck w…

teleSUR (2019-12-04). Italy: EU Countries to Receive 121 Migrants Rescued at Sea. telesurenglish.net Italy's Interior Minister Wednesday announced that it will allow the landing of 121 migrants who remained aboard the Alan Kurdi and Ocean Viking vessels. Subsequently, they will be relocated to other European Union (EU) countries. | RELATED: | Italian Authorities Uncover Plot to Create New Nazi Party | Both the Sea Eye's vessel (Alan Kurdi) and the Doctors Without Borders' ship (Ocean Viking) waited more than five days for authorization to disembark in the port of Sicily. | The lan…

Oscar Chacón (2019-12-04). Immigrants Targeted by Trump Deserve Protection. progressive.org The termination of this program and the deportation of TPS holders is a cruel political tactic, with real-life consequences.

Ian MacDougall, ProPublica (2019-12-04). Consulting Giant McKinsey Suggested "Detention Savings Opportunities" That Even ICE Staff Viewed as Too Harsh on Immigrants. commondreams.org How McKinsey helped the Trump Administration detain and deport immigrants. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_ice_0.jpg

Robert Fisk (2019-12-04). The Remembrance Poppy is Becoming a Weapon Against Immigrants to Canada. counterpunch.org Canada's "diversity" is famous — or a bit infamous for the redneckers in a country larger than the US who still cannot quite accept that this is an immigrant nation. On a Toronto tram, I've often found myself the only Anglo-Saxon aboard. But I don't find this odd. I am not a Canadian, but my Canadian More

Fight Back (2019-12-04). Activists decry Minnesota investments in border militarization, climate destruction. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) held its quarterly meeting at the State Capitol December 2 and got sharp criticism from immigrant rights and anti-war activists, as new documents revealed a nearly $1 million increase in investment in a controversial military technology company. Youth climate strikers also highlighted the SBI's inaction over state ties to environmental destruction. Both groups were met with vacillation and excuses from the board which is tasked with the responsible investment of public pensions and related funds. | At issue was Elbit Systems, an Israel-based manufacture…

commondreams (2019-12-04). Earthjustice and National Butterfly Center Urge U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Shut Down Illegal Private Border Wall Construction in Texas. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Staff (2019-12-04). Trump Pressured Pentagon to Give $400 Million Wall Contract to Fox News Guest. truthout.org The company of a Fox News guest repeatedly praised by President Donald Trump received a $400 million border wall construction contract from the Pentagon. | The Defense Department announced on Monday that North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded the contract to build part of the wall in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge along the Arizona border. | The announcement…

Staff (2019-12-04). UN Report Finds Over 7 Million Children Worldwide Are Being Held in Detention. truthout.org A damning United Nations report says that 7 million children are deprived of their liberty worldwide, from children imprisoned on the U.S.-Mexico border to the missing children of ISIS fighters. The Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty says that at least 410,000 of those children are detained in jails and prisons, where violence is "endemic." The study also found that the number of children detained in the context of armed conflict has dramatically risen. The global study was published…

teleSUR (2019-12-04). 70 Percent of Mexico's Illegal Weapons Come From US: Report. telesurenglish.net The Secretary of National Defense of Mexico, Luis Sandoval, reported on Wednesday that the 19,317 firearms that have been seized inside 26 states of the country have recently been destroyed. | RELATED: | Morales Accuses Bolivian Gov't of Blocking His Migratory Status | Based on the statistics, 70 percent of the weapons that enter Mexico come from the U.S., while 30 percent come from Spain, Austria and other countries, the official said during the morning press conference with P…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2019-12-04). 'People Here Will Start Dying': Dire Warnings as Stranded Refugees Freeze in Hellish Conditions Near Bosnia-Croatia Border. commondreams.org The conditions of the refugee camp are being decried as "not for human beings" as officials demanded immediate relief for those languishing there. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/refugees_croatia.jpg

RT (2019-12-04). Cheeky conman erects fake Russia-Finland border, tricks illegal migrants into paying him to cross it. rt.com An industrious conman made a hefty sum of money from four illegal migrants for a walk in the forest, making them believe they were crossing the Russian border. The group, however, was later nabbed by legit Russian border guards. | Read more | | Entrapment? ICE created fake universities to lure foreign students before arresting & deporting them | Details of the bizarre affair were revealed to the media by the Border Service of the Federal Security Service on Tuesday. The incident occurred last week when the border guards apprehended a group of fo…

Staff (2019-12-04). U.N. Report Finds Over 7 Million Children Worldwide Are Being Held in Various Kinds of Detention. democracynow.org A damning United Nations report says that 7 million children are deprived of their liberty worldwide, from children imprisoned on the U.S.-Mexico border to the missing children of ISIS fighters. The Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty says that at least 410,000 of those children are detained in jails and prisons, where violence is "endemic." The study also found that the number of children detained in the context of armed conflict has dramatically risen. The global study was published in November, on the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the landmark international treaty affi…

teleSUR (2019-12-03). Morales Accuses Bolivian Gov't of Blocking His Migratory Status. telesurenglish.net President Evo Morales accused the de facto government of Bolivia for creating obstacles to his immigration legal procedures and his vice president àÅlvaro García Linera before the Bolivian consulate in Mexico. | RELATED: | Morales Vows To Do What's Best for Bolivia, Not Afraid of Jail | Morales through his account on the social media network of Twitter said that for a week they began with the steps and have requested collections that did not exist. | "Last week we started…

Fight Back (2019-12-03). Miami activists unite against U.S. imperialism in Latin America. fightbacknews.org Miami, FL – On December 1, immigrant groups representing several different countries in the Caribbean and South America rallied together at the Torch of Friendship to show unity and strength against U.S imperialism and far-right political violence in Latin America. Various groups of immigrant activists united in what they said was just the beginning of a new movement in South Florida to bring together the various struggles in Latin America against neo-liberalism and neo-colonialism. | Activists representing Chile, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Brazil spoke out against neoliberal policies, U.S militarism, and…

teleSUR (2019-12-03). Bolivians in Poor Communities Suffer Lack of Healthcare. telesurenglish.net Many Bolivian families in remote communities and populous cities like El Alto today do not have access to physicians and health personnel, whose presence was reduced or eliminated after the coup d'état against Evo Morales. | RELATED: | Morales Accuses Bolivian Gov't of Blocking His Migratory Status | In most of these places, Cuban doctors offered their services by virtue of cooperation agreements signed during the Evo Morales admini…

teleSUR (2019-12-03). U.S. Sends First Salvadoran To Guatemala Under Asylum Agreement. telesurenglish.net Guatemala received the first Salvadoran citizen from the United States under a new migration agreement that designates the Central American nation as a so-called third safe country for asylum seekers, Guatemalan authorities reported Tuesday. | RELATED: | US Restores Aid to Central America After Achieving Asylum Deals | The plane, which arrived Tuesday morning from Mesa, Arizona, also had 84 Guatemalans and two Hondurans on board, said Alejandra Mena, spokeswoman for the Guatem…

Joe Penney (2019-12-01). Cameroonian Asylum-Seekers at the Border Are Fleeing a U.S.-Backed Military Force. theintercept.com Some 10,000 Cameroonians have tried to ask for asylum in the U.S. since 2016, many of them escaping brutal treatment by an elite Cameroonian military unit.

James Goodman (2019-12-01). The Sanctuary Strategy. progressive.org Policies and activism that work to shelter undocumented immigrants have spread across the country—and are remarkably effective.

Ashoka Mukpo (2019-11-27). "If I Could Just Look at Her" aclu.org Watch the journey of two separated parents trying to cross the border and reunite with their children.: | " data-whitelisted="false" data-domain="www.youtube.com"> | In October, the Trump administration admitted that in a 12-month period, beginning in July 2017, it separated 4,370 immigrant children from their parents at the border. Since then, over 1,000 more have been separated under a dubious loophole that all…

RT (2019-11-27). Entrapment? ICE created fake universities to lure foreign students before arresting & deporting them. rt.com US immigration authorities created fake universities, lured foreign-born students to enroll, and took large sums of their money — before arresting and deporting them for immigration violations, a new report has revealed. | In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported 90 students enrolled in a fake Michigan-based university, the Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday. As many as 250 people, mostly from India, have been arrested since January, as part of the sting operation concocted by federal agents. | The scammed students had arrived in the US legally on student visas, but…

David Cole (2019-11-26). We're Grateful for the Constitution. aclu.org Thanksgiving is here: that time of year when we pause to take stock of all we're grateful for. At the ACLU, we're saying thanks for all the crucial wins from our legal teams — and for the Constitution. | In just the last few months, we've racked up many essential victories in the ongoing battle to protect civil liberties and civil rights. The scope of these victories is breathtaking: they span criminal justice, privacy, religious freedom, reproductive rights, due process for immigrants, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and the right to protest the Keystone pipeline, among others. We've won crucial victories…

Ashoka Mukpo (2019-11-25). In Nicaragua, She Dodged Bullets. Now She's Stuck at the Border. aclu.org (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) The sting of tear gas was still in Julia's eyes when she ran into a public park in the center of the Nicaraguan city of Estelí on June 20, 2018. Earlier that day, she'd wrapped her face in a blue-and-white bandanna — the colors of the Nicaraguan flag — and joined a student-led march against the government of President Daniel Ortega, whose proposed cuts to social benefits were sparking tense street demonstrations across the country. [Note: 'Julia' is a pseudonym; the ACLU is protecting her identity for her safety.] | As the students marched through the streets, paramilitary p…

Charlie Hogle (2019-11-25). The Trump Administration is Unlawfully Detaining a U.S. Resident Without Charge. aclu.org Adham | Hassoun completed his criminal sentence and was set to be released from prison almost | three years ago. But the government — now claiming unprecedented and | unconstitutional powers under the USA Patriot Act — continues to hold Adham in | detention, indefinitely and without charge. | We're | in court to secure his freedom. | Adham | has called the United States home for 30 years. Born in Lebanon to Palestinian | refugees, Adham and his family — like many other refugees — suffered…

splcenter (2019-11-21). Emails Confirm Miller's Twin Obsessions: Immigrants and Crime. splcenter.org Stephen Miller linked immigration to violence in emails to Breitbart News — writing of crimes committed by nonwhites that "each one [is] more disturbing than the next."

Scarlet Kim (2019-11-20). The U.S. Government Tracked, Detained, and Interrogated Journalists. We're Suing on Their Behalf. aclu.org As part of a coordinated effort that undermined the freedom of the press, the U.S. government tracked, detained, and interrogated journalists who were reporting on conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Now, we're suing on their behalf to defend their First Amendment rights. | Together with the New York Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, we're representing five photojournalists who traveled to Mexico in late 2018 and early 2019 to document the experiences of people traveli…

splcenter (2019-11-05). Stephen Miller's Affinity for White Nationalism Revealed in Leaked Emails. splcenter.org In the run-up to the 2016 election, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller promoted white nationalist literature, pushed racist immigration stories and obsessed over the loss of Confederate symbols after Dylann Roof's murderous rampage, according to leaked emails reviewed by Hatewatch.

splcenter (2019-11-05). Emails Detail Miller's Ties to Group That Touted White Nationalist Writers. splcenter.org White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller demonstrates a connection to an anti-immigrant think tank that promoted white nationalist writers, according to emails acquired by Hatewatch.