Daily Archives: April 23, 2020

2020-04-23: News Headlines

Susie Day (2020-04-23). Puerto Rico, Protest, Prison: Johanna Fernández and Jose Saldaña Talk About The Young Lords. counterpunch.org Johanna Fernández, child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and professor at New York's Baruch College, has just published The Young Lords: A Radical History, a book about the 1960s Puerto Rican activist group. The Young Lords began as a Chicago street gang; then, inspired by the Black Panther Party, morphed into a militant rights

Kenneth Surin (2020-04-23). What the President Continues to Say (About the Plague). counterpunch.org "People were shocked I acted so quickly. And everybody thought I was wrong because I did act so quickly as you know with respect to closing the borders." [It was almost 6 weeks after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the US that the Trump administration moved to step-up coronavirus testing]

LCLAA Sacramento (2020-04-23). LCLAA Demand Full Staffing Of Cal/OSHA To Protect Farmworkers & Essential Workers. indybay.org Labor Council For Latin American Advancement has called on Governor Newsom to protect farmworkers, their families and all essential workers. They want the hiring of 1,000 inspectors and 500 educators…

RT (2020-04-22). Trump signs order halting immigration to the US to ensure Americans will be 'first in line for jobs'. rt.com Citing the need to preserve healthcare resources and ensure that more than 22 million Americans made unemployed by the coronavirus response will be taken care of, US President Donald Trump has suspended most forms of immigration. | The 60-day moratorium, which can be extended if needed, bars entry to the US for anyone outside the country who doesn't have a valid immigrant visa or other valid document that would grant them admission, beginning a minute before midnight on Thursday, April 23. | President

teleSUR (2020-04-22). US Deports Thousands of Migrants to COVID-19 Vulnerable Nations. telesurenglish.net The United States is continuing the deportation of thousands of migrants, some already sick with the novel coronavirus, to the most vulnerable countries in the Western Hemisphere despite widespread complaints and criticism, national media has reported. | RELATED: | The worrisome trend comes as U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the White House would halt the immigration of green card recipients for 60…

news.un (2020-04-22). FROM THE FIELD: Migrants use digital 'fab labs' to address Djibouti health protection shortages. news.un.org With Djibouti's health system under enormous strain from the COVID-19 pandemic, young migrants in the country are using 3D-printers to make face shields, and ease the shortfall inside medical facilities in the Horn of Africa country.

graham (2020-04-22). Britain continues to cascade down press freedom index. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica: The 2020 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), shows that the coming decade will be decisive for the future of journalism, with the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting and amplifying the many crises that threaten the right to freely reported, independent, diverse and reliable information. This 2020 edition of the Index, which …

Staff (2020-04-21). Death Trap Jail: Pepper-Sprayed, Otay Mesa Detainees Demand Release as COVID-19 Spreads Inside. democracynow.org We look at the mounting number of COVID-19 cases inside immigration jails across the country and one of the largest outbreaks at the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego, run by private prison company CoreCivic. Prisoners were told to sign contracts, written only in English, in exchange for receiving face masks. When some refused to sign, guards pepper-sprayed them. This comes as activists say hundreds imprisoned in detention centers in California are on hunger strike. We get an update from Ruth Mendez, community activist and volunteer with Otay Mesa Detention Resistance.

RT (2020-04-21). Trump announces 60-day immigration ban to shield American workers from competition. rt.com US President Donald Trump has ordered a two-month pause in issuing most work visas, so that more than 22 million Americans made unemployed by coronavirus lockdowns will not face as much competition. | The 60-day moratorium will apply only to immigrants seeking permanent residence permits, also known as "green cards," Trump said on Tuesday at the daily White House press conference about the US coronavirus response. | "By pausing immigration we'll help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as America reopens," the president said. "It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be r…

RT (2020-04-21). American dream suspended: Trump says he's signing order to halt immigration into US 'in light of attack' from coronavirus. rt.com US President Donald Trump said he will sign an executive order suspending all immigration into the United States, citing the need to protect American jobs amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. | "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" Trump said in a tweet on Monday night. | In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to tempo…

Staff (2020-04-21). Headlines for April 21, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Says He Will Shut Down All Immigration to the U.S. Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Southern States to Reopen Businesses Despite Mounting COVID-19 Cases | , Coronavirus Cases Surging in Massachusetts , NY Nurses Sue over Lack of Protection Against Coronavirus, MTA Moves Ahead with Increase in Police Force Despite Financial Hardship and Drop in Riders | , Federal Judge Orders ICE to Consider Releasing Immigrants Vulnerable to COVID-19, SCOTUS to Consider Crucial Role of DACA First Responders, Airline Industry Receives $3 Billion in Gov't Funds as Flight Attendants Denounce Working Conditions, Disney to Stop Paying…

Staff (2020-04-21). NYC Immigrant Communities Fight Hunger, Exploitation & Invisibility Through Mutual Aid. democracynow.org We look at how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting undocumented people here in New York City, where the coronavirus has hit immigrant communities the hardest, even as the numbers of daily deaths statewide has declined in recent days. As reports of widespread poverty and hunger continue in the immigrant communities, people are also organizing and helping each other through mutual aid despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We are joined by Juan Carlos Ruiz, Lutheran pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Brooklyn and co-founder of the national New Sanctuary Movement and the New Sanctuary Coalition here in Ne…

Eddie Bejarano (2020-04-21). Anti-Immigrant Movement Has History of Politicizing Disease. splcenter.org COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, is the latest disease the nativist movement has politicized to demonize immigrants.

Staff (2020-04-20). Headlines for April 20, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Fatalities Top 40,000; Nursing Homes Hit Hard as Death Tolls Soar | , Trump and Governors at Odds over Coronavirus Testing as Uneven Reopening of States Commences, Right-Wing Groups Organize Anti-Lockdown Protests Around the Country | , New Deal on Relief for Small Businesses Could Be Imminent But May Lack Key Democratic Provisions, Immigrant Prisoners at Otay Mesa Launch Hunger Strike, Denounce Inhumane Treatment | , Michael Cohen to Be Released from Federal Detention as Prisoners Nationwide Face Mounting Coronavirus Risk, Italy Records Lowest Daily Death Toll in a Week; Spain & France Also Show Signs of Pr…

Alan Macleod (2020-04-17). ICE is Deporting COVID-19 Positive Detainees from Private Immigration Prisons. mintpressnews.com By continuing deportations of quarantined detainees during a pandemic, ICE is greatly increasing the risk of spreading the deadly virus to other countries officials and activists warn.

ACLU (2020-04-17). What it's Like in ICE Detention During a Pandemic. aclu.org As millions of people in the U.S. shelter in their homes, and millions more who aren't able to stay indoors practice social distancing or other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a crisis is brewing in the facilities where immigrants are detained. Cramped conditions and inadequate access to hygiene or medical care have created what one medical expert called a "tinderbox" for the disease in a letter to Congress., , Many of those in detention are asylum seekers, who came to the U.S. to ask for protection after fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. Many others were long-time U.S. resi…

Staff (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…

Staff (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…

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.

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.

sputniknews (2020-04-23). Immigration Freeze: COVID-19 Provides 'Window of Opportunity' for Key Trump Policy – Prof. sputniknews.com On Wednesday evening US President Trump announced that he had signed an executive order putting a hold on the entry of immigrants to the country for at least 60 days.

IRNA (2020-04-22). Iran takes delivery of COVID19 test kits bought from France. iranian.com Iran took delivery of some six tons consignment of coronavirus test kits bought from France through Sari Su border market, the managing director of Bazargan Customs Office said. Speaking to IRNA, Sadeq Namdar said this is the third pharmaceutical consignment which arrived in Iran with the agreement of Iranian and Turkish border chiefs and through …

Zero Hedge (2020-04-21). Trump Temporarily Suspends All Immigration Into The United States. iranian.com In a stunning turn of events, late on Monday, President Trump tweeted that "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1252418369170501639 Trump did not …

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-04-22). 'Cruel and Outrageous': DeVos Blocks Undocumented Students From Receiving Coronavirus Emergency Aid. commondreams.org Immigrant rights groups on Wednesday condemned the Trump administration's decision to exclude undocumented students from a $6 billion aid program that the Education Department unveiled earlier this month, calling the exclusion needlessly "cruel." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/devos.jpeg