Daily Archives: April 13, 2020

2020-04-13: News Headlines

RT (2020-04-13). China reduces number of people crossing its borders by 90%. rt.com The number of people crossing Chinese borders has been cut by 90 percent as part of Beijing's efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, an official said on Monday. Liu Haitao of the National Immigration Administration said the number of cases was still on the rise in the countries along China's borders. | China was working to limit all non-essential crossings, but it remained a huge challenge to control the large number of mountain passes, ferries and roads along the country's long border, the official said. | A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported in mainland China on Sunday, up from 99 a…

Astrid Galván, Philip Marcelo, Claudia Torrens (2020-04-13). Millions of immigrants pay taxes but won't get coronavirus stimulus checks. peoplesworld.org PHOENIX (AP)—The $2.2 trillion package that Congress approved to offer financial help during the coronavirus pandemic has one major exclusion: millions of immigrants who do not have legal status in the U.S. but work here and pay taxes. That includes Carmen Contreras Lopez, a 48-year-old housekeeper who, though she earns low wages, files a tax …

RT (2020-04-13). Greece 'to guard border' as it voices concern over asylum-seekers 'gathering on Turkey coast'. rt.com Officials in Greece expressed concern on Monday that migrants and refugees are gathering on Turkey's coast with plans to cross the Aegean Sea to Greek islands, despite movement restrictions in both countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. | Daily clashes between border police and asylum-seekers broke out at the land border between Turkey and Greece in March, after Ankara said it would no longer stop people from trying to enter Europe. | Authorities "have seen signs of activity" on the shores of Turkey, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas stated. "We will… continue to do whatever it takes to…

Tony Pecinovsky (2020-04-13). Fascist admirers and collaborators: New book exposes Hitler's American friends. peoplesworld.org An emboldened right-wing, with an enabler in the White House, has reemerged since the 2016 elections. Its most reactionary elements are not shy about openly associating with hate groups—white supremacist, anti-immigrant, Holocaust deniers—which, of course, is cause for alarm. With this in mind, Bradley W. Hart's Hitler's American Friends: The Third Reich's Supporters in the …

RT (2020-04-13). 'Use your own fortune': Church of Sweden grilled after seeking coronavirus aid packages for migrants. rt.com Senior religious leaders in Sweden have urged the government to provide relief for asylum seekers, sparking anger from native Swedes who claim the calls for Christian charity don't seem to extend to the country's own citizens. | As the Covid-19 pandemic sends shockwaves through the global economy, the Swedish government should extend special support for the homeless, asylum seekers, temporary labor migrants and those awaiting deportation, the Christian Council of Sweden argued in an open letter. The group includes Antje Jackelen, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, as well as the leaders of several other Chris…

RT (2020-04-13). Singapore prepares 'floating hotels' for migrant workers as alternative to dormitories. rt.com Authorities in Singapore are preparing to house hundreds of foreign workers in accommodation vessels typically used for offshore and marine industry staff. Tens of thousands of migrant workers, many from South Asia, live in cramped dormitories across Singapore, which have become the biggest source of coronavirus infections in recent days. | Some of the healthy residents of those facilities are being moved to other sites including military camps, an exhibition center, vacant public housing blocks and the accommodation vessels, dubbed "floating hotels." | "Each facility can hold a few hundred occupants and can b…

RT (2020-04-13). Libya's UN-recognized govt says 2 strategic cities retaken from forces backing Haftar. rt.com The UN-recognized government in Libya said on Monday that its forces had seized two western cities on the coast between Tripoli and the Tunisian border from troops backing eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, AFP reported. | "Our forces took control of Sorman and Sabratha and are pursuing [Haftar's forces]," said a statement by Mohammed Gnunu, spokesman for the forces of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord. | Since 2014, Libya has been split between competing governments and military alliances based in Tripoli and the east. For the past year, the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Ha…

RT (2020-04-13). Indian police officer killed and another injured in militant attack in Kashmir region — officials. rt.com A police officer has been killed and another reportedly critically injured in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir, as India and Pakistan are engaged in intense cross-border fighting, despite each battling Covid-19. | The Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed in an attack in the Kishtwar district of the disputed region, a police official said, according to the Times of India. | The incident reportedly happened in a remote village of Dachan, when militants opened fire on the SPOs on duty. The attackers then fled the scene with two rifles. Police reinforcements have been sent to the area to track down the mi…

Cinthya Santos Briones, The Nation, Magnum Foundation (2020-04-13). Immigrants Are Bearing the Brunt of the Coronavirus Crisis. thenation.com Cinthya Santos Briones, The Nation, Magnum Foundation Immigrants Are Bearing the Brunt of the Coronavirus Crisis…

Staff (2020-04-13). Headlines for April 13, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Leads in Coronavirus Death Toll, as Trump Eyes Easing Restrictions in Weeks, Trump Moves to Slash Pay for Essential Migrant Farmworkers | , USPS Says It Will Become Insolvent Without Gov't Help, But Trump Refuses to Bail It Out | , 200+ Prisoners Released in Philadelphia After Weeks of Protest Calling for Decarceration, Protests Call Out Mounting COVID-19 Cases at Immigrant Prisons in Arizona, California | , Mounting COVID-19 Clusters Reported at Meat Processing Plants | , Almost 600 Sailors On Board USS Theodore Roosevelt Test Positive for COVID-19 | , Judge Blocks Alabama Coronavirus Abortion Ban; Texas Pr…

Community (2020-04-13). Farmworker Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville. indybay.org Check out the Campesino Appreciation Caravan that happened this morning, April 11, in Watsonville! | Share far and wide, and get mobilized in your community!

Alan Benjamin (2020-04-13). April 14 Day of Work Stoppage in Maquiladoras Along US-Baja Calif. Border. zcomm.org The struggle of these maquiladora workers is our struggle…

sputniknews (2020-04-13). Greece Ready to Protect Border if Turkey Lets Migrants With COVID-19 Reach Islands. sputniknews.com ATHENS (Sputnik) – Athens is ready to protect its sovereignty and borders if Turkey decides to send migrants infected with the virus to Greece's islands, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Monday.

yenisafak (2020-04-13). COVID-19: Pakistan extends border closure for 2 weeks. yenisafak.com Pakistan on Monday announced it was extending an ongoing border closure for an additional two weeks amid a surge in novel coronavirus cases in the country.An Interior Ministry statement said the decision to extend the closure with neighboring India, China, Afghanistan and Iran had been taken in line with the government's strategy to stem the spread COVID-19 cases in the country.However, two main crossing points between Pakistan and Afghanistan will remain open three days a week only for cargo trucks.On March 16, Pakistan had closed its borders with neighboring countries for two weeks, later extending this period…

RT (2020-04-12). 'Go back to your corona-ridden country': German officials apologize after French people insulted & spat on in border town. rt.com The coronavirus pandemic has become a tough test of the EU's unity, and a small German border town is actively failing it. Officials have sounded the alarm over a spike in aggression from the locals towards visitors from France. | The people of Gersheim have been living side by side with the French for over two decades, crossing the symbolic border between the two European Union member-states without even noticing it. | But in mid-March this border became real, as Germany shut itself off from its neighbors in an attempt to stem the spread of Covid-19. The only exceptions made were for goods deliveries, and for…

Staff (2020-04-12). Migrant Workers Are Essential Workers and Must Be Included in Coronavirus Relief. truthout.org The coronavirus pandemic has inspired critical discussions about which companies deserve government support and who constitutes an essential worker. Yet, there is a vital population of more than 1.6 million people who have been disregarded as a group worthy of protections: temporary foreign workers. | These workers in large part perform the types of jobs that have been deemed "essential" during this health crisis. As you read this, they are harvesting and preparing our food and providing…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-04-12). Israeli Troops Open Fire on Palestinian Farmers in Southern Gaza. imemc.org Israeli troops opened fire, early on Sunday morning, on a number of Palestinian farmers in the southern besieged Gaza Strip. Local Palestinian media sources and witnesses said that Israeli troops, stationed on watch towers, near the border fence with Khuza'a village, southeast of the coastal territory, opened fire with their …

RT (2020-04-11). Magnitude 5.3 earthquake strikes California close to Nevada border. rt.com A 5.3 magnitude earthquake has struck near Yosemite National Park, along the California-Nevada border. | Occurring at a depth of six miles (10km), the quake hit shortly after 7: 30am on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported. | Its epicenter was around 90 miles (144km) southeast of Lake Tahoe, just north of the sprawling Yosemite National Park. | Also on rt.com | | Yosemite draws upwards of four million visitors per year, b…

Special to People's World (2020-04-10). Communist Party USA demands immigrant safety and justice in current health crisis. peoplesworld.org In a statement released April 9, the Immigrant Rights Subcommittee of the Communist Party USA's Political Action Commission calls for a "complete immigrant-friendly overhaul of our laws and policies regarding immigrants and refugees, including a fair and just method for workers to enter the U.S., the right to not be tied to one employer, and …

Eileen Ng (2020-04-10). Low-paid migrant workers bear the worst of Singapore's second COVID-19 wave. peoplesworld.org KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)—After managing to keep on top of the first wave of coronavirus outbreaks, Singapore is grappling with an alarming rise in infections among migrant workers housed in crowded dormitories. Such cases now account for about a quarter of Singapore's 1,910 infections. The government reported 287 new cases Thursday, its biggest daily jump. …

Ahmed Abdulkareem (2020-04-10). Saudi Arabia Violates its Own Ceasefire As Yemen Announces First Cases of Coronavirus. mintpressnews.com The Saudi regime has engaged in a number of questionable activities since the global outbreak of COVID-19, including moving masses of African refugees deported from areas with coronavirus to the Yemeni border.

Ken Klippenstein (2020-04-10). Exclusive: Inside Trump's Failed Plan to Surveil the Canadian Border. thenation.com Exclusive: Inside Trump's Failed Plan to Surveil the Canadian Border…

Mehr News (2020-04-10). Medical aid cargo from Bulgaria arrives in Iran. iranian.com Head of Bazargan Customs Administration Sadegh Namdar announced on Friday that Bulgari's eight-ton consignment including anti-coronavirus medical requirements arrived in Iran through Sari Su trans-boundary market at Iran-Turkey joint Bazargan border. Namdar explained that this is the second cargo which arrives in Iran through Sari Su trans-boundary market, after conducting the required coordination between Iranian and Turkish customs officials. …

Vijay Prashad (2020-04-09). Femicide Does Not Respect the Quarantine. dissidentvoice.org Days, weeks, months, an indeterminate amount of time as the world seems paralysed by the journey of SARS-CoV-2. The lack of certainty increases the anxiety. This virus, as Arundhati Roy writes, 'seeks proliferation, not profit, and has, therefore, inadvertently, to some extent, reversed the direction of the flow [of capital]. It has mocked immigration controls, …

Ashoka Mukpo (2020-04-08). "They Don't Care if You Die": Immigrants in ICE Detention Fear the Spread of COVID-19. aclu.org Mario Rodas, Sr. first found out there was a deadly virus spreading through the country while he was watching television at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. In early March, Rodas had been pulled over and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while driving to the supermarket with his wife, a legal resident and the mother of his three U.S. citizen children. Since then, he'd been in the custody of ICE, mostly at Plymouth. | The more Rodas heard about the disease, the more fearful the 59-year-old became. | "I was scared for my health," he told the ACLU. "I was worr…

splcenter (2020-04-08). Nativist Hate Groups Want to Keep People in ICE Detention Despite COVID-19 Threat. splcenter.org Anti-immigrant think tanks are pushing for the U.S. to detain immigrants and asylum seekers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, even as prisoners stage hunger strikes and other protests in response to what they describe as deteriorating health conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

Staff (2020-04-07). Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic. democracynow.org As COVID-19 deaths spike in African-American and immigrant communities, almost a third of New York City's infections are in Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, and many in the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented and working-class. We speak with Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, about how the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is causing "deaths of incompetence," "deaths of science denial" and "deaths of inequality."

Staff (2020-04-03). Protect Immigrant Communities: Fear Mounts of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak in U.S. Border Camps, ICE Jails. democracynow.org The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has joined thousands of medical professionals and immigration rights groups to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement release all prisoners from immigration jails as the coronavirus continues to spread. Meanwhile, immigration advocates are working to prepare crowded encampments of asylum seekers across the U.S.-Mexico border for a potentially catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19. Since the implementation of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, tens of thousands of asylum seekers from regions like Central America and Africa have been stranded in Mexican bord…

splcenter (2020-04-03). Detained immigrants across Deep South feel like 'sitting ducks' as ICE ignores their safety amid global pandemic. splcenter.org COVID-19 began to infect the nation at rapid speed in March, reaching every corner of the country and taking the lives of more than 6,000 people by April 3. The United Nations has dubbed the coronavirus the "most challenging" crisis the globe has witnessed since World War II.

Katrina Huber (2020-04-02). Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic. splcenter.org As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world — people in immigrant detention centers.

Manar Waheed (2020-04-02). COVID-19 Doesn't Discriminate — Neither Should Congress' Response. aclu.org Congress' third bill addressing the impacts of COVID-19, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), was a necessary attempt to respond to this public health crisis but its exclusion of immigrant communities is downright racist and xenophobic. Immigrants were

splcenter (2020-04-01). SPLC, partners seek temporary restraining order to prevent immigration courts from becoming public health hazard. splcenter.org

Ziad A Memish, Qanta A Ahmed, Patricia Schlagenhauf, Seydou Doumbia, Anas Khan (2020-03-30). [Correspondence] No time for dilemma: mass gatherings must be suspended. thelancet.com The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic places unprecedented pressure on societies and health-care systems around the world. This first pandemic of the 21st century demands internationally unified, cogent, and collective actions by individuals, communities, commercial bodies, institutional systems, and all governments in mitigating its escalating impact. Each day, more countries are closing their borders, repatriating their citizens, and discouraging tourism. Air travel between continents has been largely suspended.

splcenter (2020-03-30). Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative: COVID-19 Parole Informational Guide for Sponsors. splcenter.org

splcenter (2020-03-27). Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers. splcenter.org

splcenter (2020-03-25). SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.