Daily Archives: April 29, 2020

2020-04-29: News Headlines

en.mehrnews (2020-04-29). Iranian scientist in US jail contracts coronavirus. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) — An Iranian scientist who has been pleading for weeks to be released from a US immigration jail due to his fragile health has contracted Covid-19, according to his family and attorneys.

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-29). Colombia's great coronavirus exodus. colombiareports.com After years of receiving foreigners, from tourists and immigrants to refugees, the coronavirus pandemic abruptly reversed this trend and triggered a mass exodus from Colombia. The most dramatic migration is…

en.mehrnews (2020-04-29). 13-ton cargo of laboratory diagnostic equipment arrives Iran from France. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) — The fifth consignment of laboratory diagnostic equipment has arrived in Iran through the Sari Su border market in West Azerbaijan Province, according to an official.

Jake Johnston (2020-04-28). Exporting COVID-19: ICE Air Conducted Deportation Flights to 11 LAC Countries, Flight Data Shows. cepr.net There were 232 likely ICE Air deportation flights to Latin America and Caribbean countries between February 3, 2020 and April 24, 2020, CEPR analysis shows. In 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 267,258 individuals — 96 percent of whom were from the Latin America and Caribbean region. Though much of the media focus has …

Brett Heinz (2020-04-28). US Deportations Are Exporting COVID-19 to Nations Unprepared for a Pandemic. cepr.net On April 22nd, President Trump signed an Executive Order putting a 60-day halt on the issuance of new green cards to immigrants admissible for permanent residency in the United States. This measure, coming on the back of other government measures restricting legal immigration, ostensibly seeks to protect the US from imported cases of COVID-19. But …

Sasha Abramsky (2020-04-28). The Federalist Fight Against Fascism. thenation.com The Federalist Fight Against Fascism…

news.un (2020-04-28). As pandemic encroaches on Abyei, tensions rise over disputed territory straddling Sudan, South Sudan. news.un.org Sudan's efforts to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, are delaying the deployment of fresh United Nations police units in Abyei and the border regions between Sudan and South Sudan, the UN's peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Tuesday…

Staff (2020-04-28). Headlines for April 28, 2020. democracynow.org Known U.S. Deaths Top 56,000 as New Study Shows True Number Likely Much Higher, Trump Ignored Early Intelligence Reports as Coronavirus Spread, Trump Denies Responsibility for Spike in Disinfectant Poisonings, Texas Reopens Businesses, California Warns Against Violating Restrictions | , Trump's Plan to Give Commencement Address at West Point Could Bring Back 1,000 Cadets to Campus, NY Cancels Primary After Removing Bernie Sanders from the Ballot , U.N. Calls for Release of Immigrant Prisoners as San Diego Facility Refuses to Allow Face Mask Delivery, More Cases Reported at Prisons as New Study Shows 96% of Inmate…

en.mehrnews (2020-04-28). Police confiscates 497 kg illicit drugs in Iran's Mirjaveh. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) — The police forces of the Sistan and Baluchestan province have busted a consignment of illicit drugs in the southeastern borders.

news.un (2020-04-27). FROM THE FIELD: How refugees are helping overwhelmed health systems' COVID-19 response. news.un.org With many European health services struggling to deal with an influx of COVID-19 patients, many refugees and migrants with experience in the sector, are being drafted in to help respond to the crisis.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-04-27). Mexico evacuates migrant centers due to COVID-19 pandemic. peoplesdispatch.org The National Migration Institute (INM) of Mexico, on April 26, announced that it evacuated nearly all its 65 migrant centers and shelters across the country in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19. In an official statement, the INM said that "based on the health recommendations of Mexican authorities and national and international organizations on the protection of human rights," it implemented "the departure of some migrants, who, for different reasons, have not had their legal situation resolved." | In the statement, the INM reported that since March 21, in order to comply with health and safety gui…

Jim Goodman (2020-04-27). Without Farmworkers You Wouldn't Eat. thenation.com Without Farmworkers You Wouldn't Eat…

Gianluca Gaidano, Raffaella Balocco, Wael Al Essa, Andrea Turolla, Roberto Barbato, Umberto Dianzani, Menico Rizzi, Raffaella Ravinetto (2020-04-25). [Correspondence] European education corridors: opportunity for academic solidarity. thelancet.com In times of growing political tensions around migration, health-care providers can help to protect migrant populations from exclusion.1,2 The UCL—Lancet Commission on Migration and Health called for a strengthening, through regulatory and training bodies, of health professionals' and organisations' awareness of discrimination.2 We add that organisations engaged in health science and biomedical education can fulfil their moral and deontological duty to protect populations that are susceptible to discrimination by also promoting the right to education.

The Lancet (2020-04-25). [Editorial] India under COVID-19 lockdown. thelancet.com The largest COVID-19 national lockdown in the world has been extended to May 3. As of April 22, India has reported 18‚Äà985 confirmed cases and 603 deaths from COVID-19 in 31 states and union territories since its first case on Jan 30. India was quick to close its international borders and enforce an immediate lockdown, which WHO praised as "tough and timely". The lockdown has also given the government time to prepare for a possible surge in cases when the pandemic is forecasted to peak in the coming weeks.

Michael Edison Hayden and Eddie Bejarano (2020-04-24). Trump's Immigration Order Was Drafted by Officials With Ties to Hate Groups, According to Report. splcenter.org Two officials with ties to anti-immigrant hate groups helped write President Trump's executive order blocking the issuance of new green cards, according to a report.

splcenter (2020-04-24). Fraihat v. ICE Community Resources. splcenter.org On April 20, 2020, a federal district court granted a nationwide preliminary injunction requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take a number of important steps to protect medically vulnerable people in its custody from COVID-19.

Scarlet Kim (2020-04-24). They Were Willing to Make the Ultimate Sacrifice for the U.S., but Trump Won't Let Them Become Americans. aclu.org Ange Samma, a 22-year-old green card holder from Burkina Faso, came to the United States seven years ago, when he was still a teenager. After studying electrical engineering at community college, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army in 2018. He wanted to give back to his adopted country and also hoped joining the military would help him achieve his goal of becoming an electrical engineer. , , Ange currently serves on active duty as a soldier in South Korea. But despite serving this country on a U.S. military base in a foreign country, he still hasn't been able to obtain citizenship through his military servic…

Elie Mystal (2020-04-24). SCOTUS Just Found a Way to Inflict More Terror on Immigrants. thenation.com SCOTUS Just Found a Way to Inflict More Terror on Immigrants…

Staff (2020-04-24). Organizer: Domestic Workers Make All Work Possible, But the Coronavirus Relief Bill Discounts Them. democracynow.org To talk more about how the coronavirus relief bills have affected essential workers, we speak with an organizer in Queens, New York, the epicenter of the epicenter of the pandemic. "Things are being done, but it's not enough to serve the domestic workers who are essential workers and keep this city running," says Riya Ortiz, lead organizer and case manager for the nonprofit Damayan Migrant Workers Association in New York City.

Lawrence Wittner (2020-04-23). If Farmworkers Are "Essential," Why Are They Treated So Badly? zcomm.org On March 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, spurred to action by the coronavirus pandemic, issued a memorandum that identified the nation's 2.5 million farmworkers as "essential" workers. Soon thereafter, agribusinesses began distributing formal letters to their farm laborers, also declaring that that they were "essential." Of course, it shouldn't have required a

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.

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.

Ana Santoyo (2020-04-17). Solidarity needed; non-citizen 'essential workers' under increased attack. liberationnews.org Immigrant detainees fight back against unsafe conditions in ICE centers.

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…

Party for Socialism and Liberation (2020-04-17). Urgent: Farmworkers threatened with pay cuts while crops destroyed. liberationnews.org Take action! Sign and share this petition now!

sputniknews (2020-04-29). Two Policemen Injured in Stone Pelting by Migrant Workers at Top Indian IT Institute in Hyderabad. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): In March, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of poor migrants left bigger cities on foot to return to their homes. States were instructed to take care of daily wagers wherever they were stuck.

sputniknews (2020-04-29). Pentagon to Reportedly Redirect Funds for Anti-Russia Projects to Pay for Border Wall Construction. sputniknews.com In February, the Pentagon reportedly notified the US Congress of reducing finds allocated for military programmes, in a move that was aimed at contributing to the construction of a southern border wall with Mexico.

Tasnim News (2020-04-29). Pakistan Resumes Importing Food Items from Iran. iranian.com At least 20 trucks loaded with dates arrived in Pakistan through the Taftan border crossing after Islamabad decided to resume importing food items from Iran as the coronavirus disease in the region continues to slow down. The crossings of Chagai, Washuk, Panjgur, Turbat and Gwadar will remain open for three days every week to import …

Paul Dobson (2020-04-06). Venezuela Braces for Migrant Return as Coronavirus Rattles Latin America. venezuelanalysis.com The Caribbean country's 159 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7 deaths is considerably lower than its neighbours' tallies.

VINS (2020-04-03). Memphis Journalist Targeted by ICE for His Work. projectcensored.org Manuel Duran Ortega is a Salvadorian immigrant journalist living in Memphis, Tennessee who has helped to uncover and expose connections between the Memphis Police and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement…