(2020-04-17). EU lockdown exits will need more open borders, jobs chief says. rt.com 
European Union countries will need to ease border restrictions to let in cross-border and seasonal workers as they gradually pull out of lockdowns and relaunch their economies, the bloc's commissioner for jobs said on Friday. | The EU Commission issued guidelines to the 27 member states in March, urging them to let critical frontier workers, such as in the health or food sectors, cross borders. Some 1.5 million people live in one EU country and work in another. The situation improved after many countries' initial reflex to close frontiers but problems remained, Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmi…
(2020-04-17). Denmark will allow small businesses to reopen on Monday, borders remain closed. rt.com 
Denmark will allow certain small businesses, such as hairdressers, beauty salons and driving schools, to reopen on April 20, the government said on Friday. The order follows a lockdown imposed last month to curb the spread of coronavirus. | The move also comes after the Nordic country, one of Europe's first to shut down, began reopening day care centers and schools this week in a first step towards gradually easing the lockdown. | "No one wants to keep Denmark closed a day longer than is absolutely necessary," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Facebook. "But we must not proceed faster than we can still…
(2020-04-17). Curtiz: A film about the filming of Casablanca in 1942. wsws.org Michael Curtiz was one of the most prolific, talented directors in history, with some 180 films to his credit—a third of them made in his native Hungary and other European countries by the time he emigrated to the US in 1926.
(2020-04-17). Dolores Huerta on 2020 Census & Supporting Farmworkers During Pandemic (online). indybay.org Online event…
(2020-04-17). Thank You Farmworkers, Truckers, Delivery People and Those Oft Forgotten. indybay.org Photos and Video to thank essential workers who put themselves on the line everyday. Undocumented farmworkers have no health care. Truckers, delivery people, grocery workers keep supplies coming to those who can afford them, risking their own safety. Janitors in hospitals are heroes too. Governor Newsom, heed our call for resources to these essential workers! Photos and 3: 47 video by Jack Owicki, Pro Bono Photo.
(2020-04-16). Protests Follow Deaths at US Factories in Mexican Border Town. telesurenglish.net Protests have erupted outside factories in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez in recent days after the deaths of several workers, including some employed by U.S. companies, from what the protesters said was the coronavirus. | RELATED: | So far, 82 people have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the city that lies across the border from El Paso, Texas, local authorities said on Thursday. A total…
(2020-04-16). Bachelet: Countries Must Allow Safe Return of Its Citizens. telesurenglish.net Latin American governments must allow the return of their countries' citizens despite the COVID-19, urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Thursday. | RELATED: | Even though the borders of many nations in the world and Latin America are closing, to stop the advance of COVID-19, "everyone has the right to refresh their country of origin," Bachelet said. | Bachelet's statements c…
(2020-04-16). "Let them play ball," says Manfred—Maybe not yet, fans and players respond. peoplesworld.org 
Another fine, sunny day without baseball. It breaks your heart. Even more so, as Jackie Robinson Day, April 15, passed by without the usual fanfare in ballparks nationwide. But we can tamp down our impatience, often bordering on irritation, knowing that we are doing the right thing by staying home, and Major League Baseball likewise …
(2020-04-16). Cuba Calls for International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The impact of COVID19 can already be measured and will be assessed in the future by the striking numbers of people infected, the unacceptable numbers of deaths, the unquestionable damages to the world economy, production, trade, employment and personal income of millions of people. | It is a crisis that goes well beyond the scope of health. The pandemic has emerged and spread amidst a scenario previously marked by overwhelming economic and social inequalities within and among nations. With unprecedented migratory and refugee flows, xenophobia and racial discrimination have reemerged. The remarkable advances of…
(2020-04-16). Trump Orders Deportation of Migrant Children Due to Coronavirus. telesurenglish.net About 400 migrant children were intercepted in the US/Mexican border and deported as a preventive measure to restrain COVID-19 from spreading. After this measure, the U.S. administration left minors unprotected from human traffic and prevents their legal guardians from caring for them. | RELATED: | Before the migration policy, unaided children received shelter and resources from the Department of Health and Human…
(2020-04-16). La Iniciativa para la Liberación de Inmigrantes en el Sureste:Guía informativa de libertad condicional COVID-19 para patrocinadores. splcenter.org …
(2020-04-15). Ocasio-Cortez To Back Biden If He Changes on Healthcare. telesurenglish.net U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of Congress's leading progressives, told Politico on Wednesday she wanted to see former Vice President Joe Biden refine his stances on issues including healthcare and immigration before endorsing him. | RELATED: | Ocasio-Cortez, who had earlier backed fellow progressive U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders' bid for the Democratic nomination, said she expected to ultimately support Bid…
(2020-04-15). Migrants Workers Demand Indian Govt Trains to Go Back Home. telesurenglish.net Thousands of migrant workers came out Tuesday to the streets of India's financial hub Mumbai, demanding food and transport, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the nationwide lockdown until May 3 to curb the coronavirus outbreak. | RELATED: | Migrants started gathering near Bandra railway station in Mumbai, the capital of the western state of Maharashtra and demanded food supplies and train services to return…
(2020-04-15). California gov announces $125 million relief for illegal immigrants over Covid-19. rt.com 
California will be the first state in the US to provide financial relief to illegal immigrants amid the Covid-19 pandemic. | California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a series of new measures by his state to provide financial relief to citizens suffering because of Covid-19 lockdown measures. Among the measures is an eye-catching $125 million fund for illegal immigrants living within the state. | "California is the most diverse state in the nation. Our diversity makes us stronger and more resilient. Every Californian, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should know that California is here to sup…
(2020-04-15). Migrants among most vulnerable, as IOM ramps up coronavirus response worldwide. news.un.org The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expanded the scope of its Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP),‚ÄØto include far-reaching interventions that aim to mitigate the dire health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the agency said on Wednesday.
(2020-04-14). Week of action demands that all immigrants detained in Minnesota be released. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – In a press conference held by video on April 14, several immigrant rights organizations announced a week of action happening this week to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and elected officials at the state and county level take action now to free all immigrants held in ICE detention in the state. | Immigration detainees are detained on civil charges and ICE has broad leeway to release people. In the current situation with the rapid spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, the conditions in Minnesota jails are ripe for the infection and death to spread quickly. Speakers at the p…
(2020-04-14). "Terrified to Go to Work": Hundreds of Workers in Meat & Poultry Plants Test Positive for COVID-19. democracynow.org 
We look at the spike in coronavirus infections at meatpacking plants. In just one case, Smithfield Foods shut down a plant responsible for 5% of U.S. pork production after more than 350 workers at the facility tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, deaths of slaughterhouse workers have been reported in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Colorado. Many meat processing facilities employ large numbers of immigrants, including undocumented workers. We speak with Wenonah Hauter, executive director and founder of Food & Water Watch, and with Magaly Licolli, executive director of Venceremos, an advocacy group for poultry plant…
(2020-04-14). Essential or Expendable? Farmworkers Condemn Lack of Protection and Economic Help During Pandemic. democracynow.org 
As the coronavirus sweeps through the United States, the country's 2.5 million farmworkers are continuing to go to work every day, often facing crowded and unsanitary conditions without personal protective equipment, for poverty wages. We speak with Gerardo Reyes Chávez, a farmworker leader with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who describes the conditions farmworkers in Florida are facing and how they are calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to protect farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis, and with Mónica Ramírez, president and founder of Justice for Migrant Women and co-founder of the National Farmwork…
(2020-04-14). Headlines for April 14, 2020. democracynow.org New York Says Coronavirus Cases May Be Stabilizing But Hospitals Still Overwhelmed, 50 NYC Education Employees, Including At Least 21 School Teachers, Have Died of COVID-19, New Jersey Grapples with Surge in Cases as Deaths Mount in Veterans' and Nursing Homes, Deceased COVID-19 Patients Were Piled into Vacant Rooms as Detroit Hospital Overwhelmed with Cases, Virginia Pastor Who Held Packed Services, Defying Order to "Stay at Home," Dies of COVID-19, Sailor from Coronavirus-Stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt Dies of COVID-19, At Least 19 Immigrant Children Infected with COVID-19 at Chicago Facility, Demolition of Ch…
(2020-04-13). Iranian American Organizations Urge ICE to Immediately Release Dr. Sirous Asgari. iranian.com Iranian American organizations PAAIA, NIAC, IABA have come together to campaign for the release of Dr. Sirous Asgari from Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Dr. Asgari is currently unjustly detained in a civil immigration detention center in Louisiana, which has put his health at serious risk amidst the likelihood of COVID-19 exposure. We, the undersigned …
(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…
(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.
(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…
(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.
(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.
(2020-04-01). SPLC, partners seek temporary restraining order to prevent immigration courts from becoming public health hazard. splcenter.org …
(2020-03-30). Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative: COVID-19 Parole Informational Guide for Sponsors. splcenter.org …
(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 …