Daily Archives: August 20, 2019

2019-08-20: News Headlines

FIRE (2019-08-20). Tell Greyhound: ICE off our buses! workers.org The call to action below can be shared and signed at bit.ly/ICEoffBuses. Fight for Im/migrants and Refugees Everywhere is a multinational, multigenerational and multigendered organization based in the U.S., seeking to bring together all sectors of society to concentrate on abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immediately putting an end to . . . | Continue reading Tell Greyhound: ICE off our buses! at Workers.org

RT (2019-08-20). Residents spring into action as dozens of mattresses fly away in Colorado storm (VIDEO). rt.com Residents of Stapleton, Colorado were bemoaning a spot of overcast, windy weather when they were suddenly beset on all sides by a horde of flying blow-up beds in what has been dubbed the "great mattress migration of 2019." | In eyewitness footage posted online by local Robb Manes, the magnificent mattress menagerie was captured in its full, natural beauty. | It seems a nearby outdoor cinema event hadn't banked on the notoriously blustery Colorado weather, and forgot to properly secure t…

RT (2019-08-20). Residents spring into action as dozens of mattresses fly away in Colorado storm (VIDEO). rt.com Residents of Stapleton, Colorado were bemoaning a spot of overcast, windy weather when they were suddenly beset on all sides by a horde of flying blow-up beds in what has been dubbed the "great mattress migration of 2019." | In eyewitness footage posted online by local Robb Manes, the magnificent mattress menagerie was captured in its full, natural beauty. | It seems a nearby outdoor cinema event hadn't banked on the notoriously blustery Colorado weather, and forgot to properly secure t…

teleSUR (2019-08-20). Italy: 10 Migrants Abandon Ship, PM Conte Resigns. telesurenglish.net Tensions increased at the Open Arms rescue vessel on Tuesday when ten of the immigrants aboard jumped into the sea in a desperate attempt to reach the Lampedusa port in Italy. | RELATED: | France Commits to Welcome 40 Migrants from 'Open Arms' Ship | "First a man, who was rescued by the Coast Guard, threw himself into the water… Then 9 migrants did too… others continue throwing themselves trying to reach the island's shore by swimming," the Repubblica reported and added that eight pe…

WSWS (2019-08-20). Over 450 refugees stranded in the Mediterranean for weeks as EU bars entry. wsws.org The EU governments have no substantial differences with the fascistic anti-immigrant policies of Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

Angela Stuesse (2019-08-20). Workplace Raids Are Not the Answer. commondreams.org By establishing immigrant "illegality" in the workplace, the law emboldened corporations to intimidate and exploit undocumented laborers. (Photo: The Progressive) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/ice_.jpeg

WSWS (2019-08-20). Quebec's new CAQ-authored chauvinist laws incite spike in hate crimes. wsws.org The more workers challenge austerity and social inequality, the more the ruling elite promotes Islamophobia and anti-immigrant chauvinism in an attempt to divide them and divert them from the struggle against crisis-ridden capitalism.

Aaron Bady (2019-08-20). How the US Exported Its Border Around the World. thenation.com How the US Exported Its Border Around the World…

The Canary (2019-08-20). Key questions about Boris Johnson's Brexit letter to Donald Tusk. thecanary.co With Brexit due on October 31, Boris Johnson has set out in writing his demands for changes to the UK's divorce deal from the European Union.— What has the Prime Minister said?In his letter to European Council president Donald Tusk, Johnson confirmed his aim of removing the backstop — the contingency plan to keep a soft border with Ireland in all circumstances — from the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement. | I have written to @eucopresident about key aspects of the UK's…

The Canary (2019-08-20). Brussels rejects Boris Johnson's call for Irish backstop to be scrapped. thecanary.co Boris Johnson has been rebuffed by Brussels after demanding major changes in a new Brexit deal. | The prime minister set out his call for the backstop — the contingency plan to avoid a hard border with Ireland — to be scrapped from the divorce deal ahead of the October 31 Brexit deadline. | But European Council president Donald Tusk defended the measure and warned that those seeking to replace it would risk a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland. | The backstop is an insurance to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland unless and until an alternative is found. Those against the backst…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-08-20). Lawsuit on Behalf of 55,000 Migrants Accuses Trump Administration of Torture in ICE Detention Centers. commondreams.org "Tens of thousands have suffered as a result of the federal government's abject failure to provide basic medical care. More will suffer, and more will die, without court intervention." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_ice.jpg

Editor (2019-08-20). Make the country hate again — yet again. workers.org "Make America great again" — the catchphrase of the current president and the fascistic movement he represents — has really always meant "hate again." No oppressed group has been spared from the vile acts and statements emanating from the White House every day. People of color, im/migrants, Muslims, women and . . . | Continue reading Make the country hate again — yet again at Workers.org

Tony Pecinovsky (2019-08-19). IWO: Book traces workers' efforts to insure themselves against capitalism's failures. peoplesworld.org Throughout history, countless mutual-aid societies have been created to help care for the injured and ill, the disabled and their dependents. With the emergence of modern industrial society and its by-product—the masses of workers (native and immigrant) ushered into the factories, mills, and stockyards—it is inevitable that a different type of mutual-aid society would emerge, …

Staff (2019-08-19). Activist on the Front Lines Discusses the Historic Protests in Hong Kong. therealnews.com We had to blur her image but she talks about police brutality, the struggle for a transparent democracy, the Chinese army at the border, and hope for the future…

Robert Fisk (2019-08-19). If Chinese Tanks Take Hong Kong, Who'll be Surprised? counterpunch.org In the glorious world of journalism, tanks always "roll" across borders. I've never in my life actually seen a tank roll, but you get the point. They don't let anything stand in their way — or nothing is supposed to stand in their way. Hence the Hong Kong Chinese should back off if the People's Army More

Staff (2019-08-19). Group Identifies Human Remains Along the Border. truthout.org | | In a special broadcast from the Arizona-Sonora border, we look at how the bodies and bones of more than 3,000 people have been found in the Sonoran Desert since 2001, and speak with Robin Reineke, the co-founder of the Tucson-based organization Colibrí Center for Human Rights. Colibrí Center is dedicated to identifying the remains of people passing through the desert and, since its founding, has identified at least 100 migrants through meticulous forensic work and DNA data collection of people's remains…

teleSUR (2019-08-19). 26,000 Asylum Seekers Wait in Mexico for US Visas. telesurenglish.net More than 26,000 people are waiting in several cities of Mexico for a United States visa, according to authorities of Tijuana, the biggest city of both Baja California State and the Baja Peninsula, which houses the largest number of migrants. | RELATED: | US Pressures New President to Implement Guatemala Asylum Pact | Tijuana…

splcenter (2019-08-19). SPLC, allies sue ICE for ignoring medical, mental health and disability needs of detained immigrants. splcenter.org Faour Abdallah Fraihat, who ran a successful construction business for years in California, is currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Staff (2019-08-19). Facing Federal Charges for Aiding Migrants, Activist Says He Won't Be Deterred. truthout.org | | We broadcast live from Tucson, Arizona, where the government recently put humanitarian activist Scott Warren on trial amid the ongoing policing of the U.S.-Mexico border, separation of families, and cruel and inhumane conditions at immigrant jails across the country. Warren, a longtime volunteer with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, was charged with three felony counts for his alleged crime of providing food, water and shelter to migrants in Ajo, Arizona. The immigrants had arri…

ACLU (2019-08-19). Trump is Taking More Money for Raids and Detention. Congress Should Stop Him. aclu.org Without congressional checks, ICE and CBP will continue to overspend and overstep. | The budget for Trump's turbo-charged immigration enforcement and border militarization is now larger than ever. And just last week, we learned that ICE plans to redirect even more money to further expand immigration detention and enforcement. The request is currently pending approval by congressional approp…

Maj. Danny Sjursen (2019-08-19). What Fareed Zakaria Gets Wrong About Afghanistan: Everything. truthdig.com Since when does a (mostly) respected press pundit sound just like an army general? Well, for a while now, in fact. Politicians and reporters will argue viciously about all kinds of issues: immigration, healthcare, race, et al. There's only one sacred cow that mainstream insiders — both "left" and right — dare not challenge: the runaway Pentagon budget and America's forever wars. | So it was, this Sunday morning, lounging in my hotel room in Spokane — I was in town for the national Vet…

Afroze Fatima Zaidi (2019-08-19). When People of Colour are seen as less than human, their babies are too. thecanary.co Every now and then, I come across a piece of news that just… rips my heart out. This may sound like an exaggeration, but reading these things can give me what feels like a physical pain inside my chest. I am forced to reflect on what some people have to suffer at the hands of our greatest living oppressors. And it makes me despair at the state of the world a little bit more. Reading about a four-month-old baby girl being separated from her breastfeeding mum by US immigration authorities…

David Penner (2019-08-19). Health Care Imperialism: Looting the World's Doctors. dissidentvoice.org To poach and rely on highly skilled foreign workers from poor countries in the public sector is akin to the crime of theft. — "Migration of Health Workers: An Unmanaged Crisis," The Lancet, May 28, 2005 What is striking about the tyranny of the medical industrial complex is not only its unconscionable oppression of the …

Peadar O'Cearnaigh (2019-08-19). Salvini's anti-immigrant policy is like a bomb that's 'going to explode'. thecanary.co On 18 August, several people jumped into the sea from the Spanish humanitarian boat Open Arms to reach the Italian coast. Italian far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini refuses to give this boat permission to dock in It…

Staff (2019-08-19). "Humanitarian Aid Is Never a Crime": No More Deaths Volunteers Drop Water in Desert to Aid Migrants. democracynow.org Volunteers with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths have been venturing into the harsh Sonoran Desert for years to leave life-saving supplies for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Longtime volunteer Scott Warren was charged with three felonies for the alleged crime of providing food, water and shelter to migrants. After a hung jury in June, he is now facing retrial on two felony counts and faces a possible 10 years in prison. As he awaits his next trial as well as deals with misdemeanor charges in another case of aiding migrants, Democracy Now! followed him into the Sonoran Desert for his first trip…

Staff (2019-08-19). "They Are Irreplaceable, and They Mattered": Group Identifies Human Remains Along the Border. democracynow.org In a special broadcast from the Arizona-Sonora border, we look at how the bodies and bones of more than 3,000 people have been found in the Sonoran Desert since 2001, and speak with Robin Reineke, the co-founder of the Tucson-based organization Colibrí Center for Human Rights. Colibrí Center is dedicated to identifying the remains of people passing through the desert and, since its founding, has identified at least 100 migrants through meticulous forensic work and DNA data collection of people's remains and family members who are alive. In 2018, it launched the Bring Them Back Campaign to call for dignity and dem…

Staff (2019-08-19). Activist Scott Warren, Facing Federal Charges for Aiding Migrants, Says He Won't Be Deterred. democracynow.org We broadcast live from Tucson, Arizona, where the government recently put humanitarian activist Scott Warren on trial amid the ongoing policing of the U.S.-Mexico border, separation of families, and cruel and inhumane conditions at immigrant jails across the country. Warren, a longtime volunteer with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, was charged with three felony counts for his alleged crime of providing food, water and shelter to migrants in Ajo, Arizona. The immigrants had arrived at the doorstep of a humanitarian shelter after a perilous journey across the Sonoran Desert. At the same time, he and othe…

teleSUR (2019-08-18). France Commits to Welcome 40 Migrants from 'Open Arms' Ship. telesurenglish.net French Ministry of Interior announced Sunday that it would welcome to France 40 migrants from the Open Arms boat. | RELATED: | Italian PM Blasts Salvini for Being Obsessed with Immigration | "Coordination of solidarity between the countries that have committed themselves to receive migrants is maintained," said the French Minister of Interior, Christophe…

Betsey Piette (2019-08-17). Activists challenge ICE profiteers. workers.org Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, shares of CoreCivic Inc. and GEO Group (CXW and GEO on the stock exchange) shot up 21 and 43 percent, respectively. The two companies controlled 85 percent of the private, for-profit prison industry. Today, facilities run by these two companies hold . . . | Continue reading Activists challenge ICE profiteers at Workers.org

Eric Buerk, member UFCW (2019-08-17). Mississippi raid shows ICE = unionbusters for the capitalist class. liberationnews.org There have also been previous allegations that ICE was serving as a private army for the capitalists.

Camden Goetz (2019-08-17). Queens, NY, rallies against ICE raids. liberationnews.org "Liberation, not deportation!"

John McDevitt (2019-08-16). Trump uses Medicaid as weapon against disabled immigrants. liberationnews.org The administration's contempt for disabled people is only matched by its virulent racism and anti-immigrant bigotry.

RT (2019-08-16). US Customs and Border Protection systems down, airports affected nationwide. rt.com Hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours at Los Angeles, New York and Washington international airports, as US Customs and Border Protection systems were plagued by 'technical 'issues.' | Around two hours after the technical issues were first reported, the CBP said that the crippled systems were "coming back online." The agency added that there was "no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at the time." | The affected systems are coming back online and travelers are being processed. CBP will continue to monitor the incident. There is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at thi…

Rebecca Gordon (2019-08-16). The Current Migrant Crisis Was Created by US Foreign Policy, Not Trump. thenation.com The Current Migrant Crisis Was Created by US Foreign Policy, Not Trump…

Staff (2019-08-16). Headlines for August 16, 2019. democracynow.org Israel Bars Reps. Omar & Tlaib from Official Trip to West Bank Due to Their Support for BDS, 11 Die in Kashmir as Pakistani & Indian Troops Exchange Fire, U.S. Puts Pressure on Crew of Iranian Oil Tanker Seized in July, North Korea Test-Fires Two Missiles as It Rejects New Talks with S. Korea, NOAA: July Was Officially the Hottest Month on Record, Australia Accused of Watering Down Pacific Island Climate Agreement, Study: Surge in Methane Gas Emissions Is Linked to Fracking Boom, 270 Die, 1 Million Displaced in India from Heavy Monsoon Rains, Federal Court: Trump Admin Can't Deny Soap & Toothpaste to Migrant Chil…

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian (2019-08-15). Immigration Is for Rich People. thenation.com Immigration Is for Rich People…

Staff (2019-08-15). Headlines for August 15, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Administration Moves to Seize Iranian Tanker Held in Gibraltar, Chinese Paramilitaries Mass on Hong Kong Border as Pro-Democracy Protests Continue, Dow Jones Plunges 800 Points on Fears of Looming Recession, Study Finds CEO Pay Increased 1,000% Since 1978 While Wages Stagnated, Facebook Hired Hundreds to Listen In on Users' Audio Messages, Mexico City Police Officers Suspended over Rape of Two Teenagers, Italian Court Allows Rescued Migrants to Disembark as Hundreds More Remain Stranded at Sea, NBC News: ICE Now Jailing 8,000 Migrants in Mississippi, Louisiana, Federal Court Weighs Fate of Protected Status…

Staff (2019-08-14). Immigrants Welcome to the US as Long as They Are White and Wealthy. therealnews.com The Trump's administration's Kenneth Cuccinelli rewrites Emma Lazarus's words on the Statue of Liberty, telling the poor and oppressed they're no longer welcome. This comes right after Trump proposes to limit legal migration to the US. We speak to Michael Paarlberg of IPS…

Staff (2019-08-14). "Give Us Your Rich": Immigration Reporter Says Trump Admin Is Changing "Wholesale" Who Gets into U.S. democracynow.org "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Those are the words of Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. But this week, acting Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli attempted to rewrite the poem to make a case for limiting immigration to the United States. He told NPR's Rachel Martin on Tuesday that the Statue of Liberty's message is "Give me your tired and your poor, who can stand on their own two feet and who will…

Staff (2019-08-14). "A Narco State Supported by the United States": How Crime & Corruption in Honduras Fuel Migration. democracynow.org We speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sonia Nazario, who has closely detailed why migrants from Central America are fleeing their homes in an attempt to seek asylum in the United States. Earlier this year, Nazario spent a month in Honduras documenting how corruption and gang violence are forcing many people to flee. Her piece, "Pay or Die," ran in The New York Times, where she is a contributing opinion writer.

splcenter (2019-08-13). SPLC joins brief opposing Kansas law targeting immigrants. splcenter.org The SPLC and 29 worker and immigrant rights organizations filed an amicus brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a court decision stating that a Kansas identity theft law cannot be used to turn local law enforcement into immigration agents.

Jeff Abbott (2019-08-13). The Other Americans: In Guatemala, Indigenous Residents Appeal to the President Over Stolen Land. progressive.org With a newly elected leader, hundreds of Mayan Mam families still await restitution—or face migrating north.

Staff (2019-08-13). Headlines for August 13, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Announces New Rule to Limit and Penalize Low-Income Immigrants, Trump Slashes Endangered Species Act, Hong Kong Protesters Shut Down Airport for Second Day, Flooding, Landslides Kill Hundreds Across South and Southeast Asia, Ebola No Longer "Incurable" After Success of Experimental Treatments, Reports: Director of Mexican Migrant Shelter Kidnapped, Racist Border Patrol Agent Who Intentionally Ran Over Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty, Friend of Dayton Shooter Says He Bought and Stored Gun Parts and Ammunition Used in Massacre, WaPo Editor Responds to Sanders Claim That Paper Writes Negative Stories Because of A…

unitedEditor (2019-08-12). Guatemala's Elections May Decide the Future of the US' Migration Crisis. uwidata.com Guatemala is currently holding the second round of its presidential elections. With about 98% of polling places reporting, it seems that Giammattei had about 58% of votes, compared to about 42% for Sandra Torres. The first round took place on June 16 (parliamentary and presidential). The winner will be tasked with managing the most populous …

Alexa Isais (2019-08-09). Miles protestan en Phoenix por abusos a niños en centros de detención de ICE. liberationnews.org Los eventos en Phoenix, incluido el valiente enfrentamiento con los matones de la policía que conllevó a 16 arrestos, así como la solidaridad tras los arrestos, demuestra la creciente determinación de un movimiento de solidaridad con todos los migrantes y refugiados, no solo aquí en Arizona, sino en todo el país.

Brian Becker (2019-08-09). El Mago Trump: el verdadero propósito del racismo y la xenofobia. liberationnews.org Trump no quiere que estas personas le echen la culpa de su sufrimiento al robo, la avaricia y la corrupción de los súper ricos y los mayores banqueros y jefes corporativos. Se protege a sí mismo y a sus amigos multimillonarios mediante el uso de tácticas fascistas para satanizar a los pueblos "minoritarios," inmigrantes y grupos socialistas.

splcenter (2019-08-08). SPLC statement on Mississippi immigration raids. splcenter.org Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney Julia Solórzano, with the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project, issued the following statement on today's workplace raids in Mississippi:…

Ricardo Vaz (2019-08-08). Venezuelan Campesinos' March on Miraflores Blocked by Police. venezuelanalysis.com The mobilization marked the one-year anniversary of the Admirable Campesino March.

Brett Barrouquere and Hatewatch Staff (2019-08-03). El Paso Shooting Suspect May Have Authored Manifesto Containing White Nationalist Talking Points. splcenter.org The suspect in a shooting that left 20 people dead at an El Paso Walmart may have posted and liked anti-immigrant leaning remarks on what appears to be his Twitter account.

ACLU (2019-07-29). Supreme Court Order No 'Big Victory' For Trump's Border Wall. The Fight Continues. aclu.org The Supreme Court has not yet decided the case, or given Trump's abuse of emergency powers the stamp of approval. | Late Friday evening, the Supreme Court gave the Trump administration a temporary green light to begin construction of the border wall using military funds Congress denied. The order, while temporary and limited to specific wall projects where fencing already exists, threatens to permanently damage border communities, the environment, and our Constitution's separation of powers. | But it's not the "big victory" President Trump q…