Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20240714

Author of the new book sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border. Wrote the book to expose our militarization at the u. S. Mexico border. The stealth war at u. S. Mexico border includes casualties as well as all of the pieces of rule. War right inscale our backyard. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace reportrt. Im amy goodman. A report by nbc shares new accounts of mistreatment and Sexual Violence experienced by locked up Migrant Children at a yuma, arizona, detention facility. In nearly 30 accounts collected by health and Human Services case managers, children complained of hunger, having to sleep on concrete floors or outside, and lack of access to basic sanitation. A 15yearold girl said an officer groped her underneath her clothing during what was supposed to be a routine patdown and joked around with other agents during the ordeal. The Trump Administration has dismissed reports of abuse against detained migrants despite recent congressional visits to migrant jails and multiple accounts of mistreatment recorded by legal and other experts. Trump said migrants were very happy, while acting Homeland Security secretary Kevin Mcaleenan called such accounts unsubstantiated. House democrats have called on mcaleenan to testifyfy about the conditions facaced by jailed migrants. Meanwhile, a new report from the New York Times and the El Paso Times details the ongoing dire situation at the Border Patrol station in clint, texas, where hundreds of Migrant Children are locked up without access to o sufficient food, wawater, sanitation, bededs, or proper medical care. Bordrder agents reported spreaeg outbreaks of scabies, shingles and chickenpox among the chilildren. One staffer says he was ordered to remove beds from children to make more space in the overcrowded cells. The facility has been described by an expert who visited it as a child jail. In washington, d. C. , 18 jewish activists s with the group never again action were arrested on capitol hill tuesday as they protested against the jailing of migrants and called on lawmakers to shut down thehe detenention s and defund icece and cbp. [ininscernible]. 6 billionon at the southehn border. [indisiscernible] their banner read never again meets never again. In a statement, the activists said as jews, we know that what starts as dehumanization can turn into grave human rights violations. We refuse to let these horrors go on any longer. We know what happens when people unaffected by crises act as bystanders and look the other way. We will not stay silent while our historical trauma is weaponized to distract from the terror that our government is unleashing on immigrant communities. A federal judge has rejected the justice departments attempt to replace the legal team charged with handling the Trump Administrations case for adding a Citizenship Question on the 2020 census. U. S. District judge jesse furman said the departments request was patently deficient and offered no reasons, little unsatisfactory reasons, for the substitution of counsel. Meanwhile, House Democrats are expected to move forward with contempt proceedings against attorney genereral william barr and commerce secretary wilbur ross for defying subpoenas for documents related to the 2020 census. A Manhattan Federal Appeals Court ruled trump is violating tuesday the constitution when he blocks his critics on twitter. Jameel jaffer of columbia universitys knight First Amendment institute, which filed the lawsuit, said Public Officials social media accounts are now among the most significant forums for discussion of government policy. This decision will ensure that people arent excluded from these forums simply because of their viewpoints, and that Public Officials arent insulated from their constituents criticism. It will help ensure the integrity and vitality of digital spaces that are increasingly important to our democracy. Britains ambassador to o the United States, kim darroch, resigned today following the fallout from leaked cables i in which h he calleled trump p ine, insecure, and incompetent. In cabables goining back as fars 2017, darroch questioned whether the Trump Administration will ever look competent. He also said trumps presidency could crash and burn and voiced fears that he may launch an attack on iran. On tuesday, trump continued to lash out at darroch, tweeting the wacky ambassador that the u. K. Foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy. He also called outgoing Prime Minister theresa may foolish and blamed her for creating a mess out of brexit. Prime minister may, who earlier said she stood by darroch and said in an address to parliament him a tremendous amount of gratitude. Good government depends on Public Servants being able to give full and frank advice. I hope the house will reflect on the importanance of defending or values and principles, particularly when they are under pressure. Opposition labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also lamented darrochs resignation. In afghanistan, an airstrike in the northern Baghlan Province killed a family of seven tuesday six of them children a two separate peace talks recently wrapped up in qatar. The air raid by Government Forces f followed an eararlier d attack on a medical facility which killed at least five. On sunday,y, a talib c car bomb killlled at leasast 18 peoplpled woununded more than n 180 other, inclining donsns of childrdren. The deaths came as afgfghan leaders and taliban officials ended a historic meeting with calls to reduce civilian casualties to zero. A seventh round of talks between the unitited states and ththe taliban reiterated hopes for a peace deal before september elections. A federal Appeals Court tuesday heard arguments in a key case that could help determine the fate of the Affordable Care act. 21 democratic attorneys general and the democraticallyled house of representatives are challenging a decision by a texas judge last december that ruled the individual mandate provision of obamacare to be unconstitutional, effectively invalidating the act. 18 republican state attorneys general and two republican governors brought the original suit. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration backed the ruling and said the aca should be dismantled. The fifth circuit Appeals Panel is likely to be opposed by the opposing side, setting up the case up for a Supreme Court battle. In new york city, fans are celebrating the womens world cup victory with the tickertape parade. Fourthm won its record world cup sunday, the second consecutive win. The games also brought renewed attention to the teams struggle for equal pay. Earlier this year, they sued the u. S. Soccer federation for gender discrimination. West virginia senator joe manchin introduced a bill tuesday to withhold federal funding for u. S. Participation in the 2026 fifa world cup unless the United States Soccer Federation implements equal pay for the womens soccer team. Outspoken cocaptain Megan Rapinoe has also made headlines for her comments about trump during the world cup saying i am not going to the fing white house. On cnn tuesday, anderson c coopr asked outspoken cocaptain megan rarapinoe what her m message wao President Trump. P. People. Excluding youre excluding me. You are excluding people that look like me. You are excluding people of color. You are excluding americans that maybe support you. I think we need to have a reckonining with the message tht you have and what youre saying about make America Great again. I think youre harking back to an era that was not great for everyone. It might have been great to a few people, but it is not great for enough americans. Amy megan rubino rapinoe also said the team would be traveling to washington, d. C. , at the invitation of several lawmakers in congress, but that she would not accept an imitation of the white house as she did not want her message or the teams to be coopted. President trump said win or lose, he would invite them to the white house but more recently he said he had not taught about it and has not extended the invitation. More highprofile democrats are calling on labor secretary Alexander Acosta to resign over the lenient 2007 plea deal given to serial child sex abuser jeffrey epstein, when he was the u. S. Prosecutor in florida. House speaker nancy pelosi, Senate Minority leader chuck schumer, and 2020 candidates including senators kamala harris, elizabeth warren, kirsten gillibrand, and Bernie Sanders said acosta should step down. Acting white house chief of staff Mick Mulvaney reportedly urged trump to fire e acosta. According to politico, mulvaney is unhappy with acostas reluctance to dismantle workplace regulations and quash employment discrimination lawsuits. Secretary acosta defended the plea deal on twitter tuesday and said he was pleased that new york prosecutors are moving forward with a case based on new evidence. No new evidence, many said, has been presented. Trump, meanwhile, praised acosta and said he feels very badly for him, while distancncing himself from epstein. And not saying anything about the victims. Trump said he hadnt spoken to epstein after a falling out 15 years ago anand that trump was was not a fan of his. In 2002, trump said epstein was a terrific guy who likes beautiful women as much as i do, and many of them are on the younger side. Trtrump will not explainin whate falling out was about. A white e man who calllled the police on a black man after falsely accusing him of trespassing hahas apologized following a viral videshowing the interactction, which happend on july 4. The man, a manager at youtube in san francicisco, was with his young g son when h he starts questioning 35year r old softwe engineer wesly michel l about wy he w was enteringg his buiuildi, accusing him o of tailgating as the father and son opened ththe door t to leave. E. The mans son can be heard pleading w with his s father noo call the policice and toto movo. He said he agreed with the man. The video was shot by michel. There is a trespasser in my buildingng. Cocollects dad, dont. His into yr son. Dad, go. I agree e with him,addy. Please, go. Andnd standing inin the lob. Daddy, i dont like this. Lets go. He walkeded in. Daddy, lets gogo. Hes africanamerican. Amy when michels friend appearars later in thehe video,e young boy sasays told you. Lets go now. Daddy, look what youve gotten us into. The boy also said i agree with the man. Apology sayingd an he was sorry he caused wesly to feel unfnfairly targeteted due o his racece. He addeded his fatheher was kild outstside his home by a trtrespasserer. C cnn, weslyw witith michel said the inteteraction mmirrors t e experience e that africacan americans dudure daily where e we are questioned on whether r we belong. He added that he startrted filmg to protect h himself a g get a trtrue account of whatat happenf police got involved. Christopher cukor issued an texas billionanaire and twotime presidenential candidate ross perot died tuesday at the age of 89 after a aattle with leukemia. Perot ran n as an independent in 1992 and as a Third Party Candidate in 1996. He won 19 of the vote in 1992, finishing third behind bill clinton and george bush senior. Perot opposed the north American Free trade agreement and famously said a giant sucking sound going south would be heard from u. S. Jobs going to mexico. Ross perot founded the reform party in 1995. Donald trump briefly ran an unsuccessful bid for the reform ticket in 2000. Many argue perot paved the way for trumps presidency. Both ran as antifree trade, populist political outsiders who preyed on voter anger. And Billionaire Tom Steyer entered the crowded 2020 democratic primary race tuesday. The prominent democratic donor and former Hedge Fund Investor said he will put 100 million of his own money into his campaign, starting with a Television Ad s in key states. Sterer hasalleled r demomoatic donor, h repeatedly call for pepeaching president rump sin Trump Took Office but has focused his early mpaign messaging on tkling clate change, creating a governmentbacked healthcare option, and tackckling big o oi, big pharma, and big banks. Senator elizabeth warren, who raised 19 million over the last quarter, with an average donation of 28, tweeted tuesday the democratic primary should not be decided by billionaires, whether theyre funding super pacs or funding themselves. The strongest democratic nominee in the general will have a coalition thats powered by a grassroots movement. While senator Bernie Sanders said of steyers bid i am a bit tired of seeing billionaires trying to buy political power. In more 2020 news, california Congressmember Eric Swalwell announced earlier this week he was dropping out of the race. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Juan and im juan gonzalez. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. More than a week after lawmakers flocked to the u. S. Mexico border to observe the horrible treatment of refugee children and families in immigration jails, reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions for Asylum Seekers are continuing. In clint, texas, the Border Patrol station that garnered internatational attention for jailing hundndreds of Migrant Children without access to sufficient food, water, beds, or medical care now has a spreading outbreak of scabies, shingles, and chicken pox according to Border Agents. The New York Times and the El Paso Times report that one staffer says he was ordered to remove beds from the jail to make more space in thehe overcrowded cells. Meanwhile, nbc reports that Migrant Children jailed in yuma, arizona, have been subjected to mistreatment and Sexual Violence. In nearly 30 accounts collected by the department of health and Human Services case managers, children complained of hunger, having to sleep on concrete floors or outside, and lack of access to basic sanitation. A 15yearold girl said an officer groped her underneath her clothing during what was supposed to be a routine patdown and joked around with other agents during the ordeal. Despite growing outrage from lawmakers, experts on Child Welfare and the public, the Trump Administration has dismissed reports of abuse. President trump said migrants were very happy while acting Homeland Security secretary Kevin Mcaleenan called such accounts unsubstantiated. House democrats have called on mcaleenan to testify about the conditions faced by jailed migrants. Amy some are describing the conditions at the border as symptoms of a broken system. But others say this is exactly how u. S. Immigration policies were designed to work. This is texas state representative diego bernal after visiting Border Patrol stations in el paso last week. People are saying that trumps policies have f failed. I disagreed. I think theyre working exactly the way theyre supposed to. I think everything were saying that has happened is on purpose. It is deliberate. It is the product of decisions that have been made. Outcomes that have been anticipated. Situations that were preredicte. This is exactly what they want. Amy texas state representative diego bernal. Well, we turn now to a book that examines the history of u. S. Immigration policies, looking at how both democrats and republicans laid the groundwork for ththe deadly system we have today. Sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border tracks the increased militarization of the u. S. Mexico border over more than three decades, arguing that the borderlands have become a war zone. Author and journalist John Carlos Frey writes in his new book we are using a militaristic approach against an enemy that does not exist. As long as the push to fortify the border continues, as seems likely no politician has yet challenged the assumed need for Border Security the human costs will continue to accumulate. John carlos frey joins us now in our new york studio. He is a fivetime Emmy Awardwinning Investigative Reporter and pbs newshour special correspondent. He has reported extensively on immigration for more than a decade. Welcome back to democracy now it is great to have you in the studio. Congratulations on your new book. The stories of what is happening on the border are terrifying. The President Trump saying jailed migrants are very happy. And now you have this report by Border Agents themselves of the outbreak of scabies, chickenpox, shingles, and the child jail in clint. Can you talk about the overall picture . It is common. But even he to say that out loud. This is the way we treat migrants. This is popolicy. The facility w we keep migrantsn is not equipped. There are no beds, no medical staff, a terrier. That is how we treat them. This is on purpose. This policy has been in place for almost 20 years n now. A policy of deterrence. If you come and visit our jail, if you happen to be arrested and go through the processing here, we want to rough you up. We want you to remember if you come to the u. S. , youre not welcome. We want that messagege to get yr home country so other people do not attempt it. This idea of how children are being treated is also policy. Tot is to send a message back families saying, do not bring your kids because theyre not going to be treated wellll that is the deterrent strategy. I think the administration has even admitted so. Juan what about the role of mexico in all of this . Obviously, there have been battles back and forth between the Mexican Government and the various use of ministrations about policy, but there was a lot of expectation with the new president opendoor that things would obrador that things would change. What is your sense of how things have changed since Lopez Obrador came into office . I know there is the financial pressure with the threat of tariffs if they did not absorb this large population, but i dont think mexico can come either. Were talking about a country for the most part that is not welcoming as well. It is a profiteer of the migration that goes through. Cartels extort these people. Women are raped on the journey. One of the reasons for the caravans that had formed starting last year was for safety, to get through mexico. Migrants do not want to stay. Even though trump says, do not let them come all the way to the border, most people if theyre coming from Central America do not want to stop in mexico. They want to get to the u. S. Border. Migrants are allowed to choose where they want to go. Were not supposed to tell them where they can migrate to. If they are desperate, human rights advocates and charters basically say migrants are free to go where they choose. Amy you have last to get another persrson dies in u. S. Immigration custody. A nicaraguan man became the 12 person to die in the e custody f u. S. S. Immigration authorities said september. Yes Something Like six children have died. Before last year, a child did not die in u. S. Immigration custody in over a decade. Trumps immigration crackdown has also led to rapidly degrading and unsafe conditions for migrants forced to stay in mexico. Orders reporting migrants are being held without adequate food, water for weeks on end and mexican immigration jail that big provide information on their cases. A challenging of the remain in mexico policy that the Trump Administration has put into place. Others challenging it saying it is illegal to say no at the border. Democracy now was there on the border as people, a mother and a tiny daughter from guatemala, are left to stay in the hot baking sunday after day after day until finally, people who are trying to do it the legal way through a legal port of entry realize they may not survive, so then they go a different route and perhaps they try to swim some of them die while swimming. I have not seen it like this before. I have not seen us close the door to the degree we have. I dont think the Administration Im going to say republicans in congress, for that matter really care about these individuals. They are being per trade as invaders. I think of has referred to them as an infestation. If that is who they are, why bother giving them any chance at asylum . We have agreements with mexico on how were going to treat people coming to the u. S. Mexico border. It is supposed to be humane. They are allowed to make a claim of asylum. We are supposed to bring the men and their supposed to have their day in court. The courts are supposed to adjudicate the cases, not leaving them in mexico. If you can imagine making the decision to come out of desperation, getting to the boborder and then being told to wait for a few months. These people dont have jobs or money or know people in mexico. They are left to fend for themselves. There are shelters popping up, but there is not enough to handle the size and population. Amjuan you talk about shelters. In your book you deal with the tremendous expansion of this detention apparatus, this industry that has developed. You mentioned back in 1990, border and customs had a budget of about 260 million. Today, it is up to 4 billion. The 16 full increase in the budget of containing and corralling and guarding our boborders and especially the southern border. Covers just appropriated more money to handle the mass population. 75 of all of our detention facilities in the u. S. Are privately run. Children cost 750 a day to house. I dont know what that cost is when we have federal attorneys arguing they dont even have toothbrushes and soap. Omebody is profiting here about 10 years ago we have 5000 people incarcerated, immigrants. 750 a day. If a child is in detention for 10 days, the government has spent 7,500, which is about the cost of a yearars of a College Education at a Public University or some public universities. When we started to see an influx of children, the New York Times said the defense contractors or housing children in converted walmarts and in these warehouses made 1 billion , a contract worth 1 billion to house children. This is profit. We want these people to come here. We want to incarcerate them and profit off them. Bezos like hyperbole, but it is not. 10 years ago that about 5000. Today we have over 50,000. Were the largest jealous of immigrants in the world. Amy your thoughts on near congressmember alexandria ocasiocortez who is among those who did not vote for the 4. 6 billion to go to the border. She recently came under fire for comments made in an instagramam video in which she called immigrant prisons concentration camps. The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border. And that i is exactlyly what thy are. They are concentration camps. Amy that is alexandria defendingtez later and tweeting yesterday in the capital, yet 18 jewish activists shoring up her comments saying never again means never again. Where are the leaders . If you start to see children getting sick, if you see children dying, if these images of children sleeping on concrete floors, being separated from their parents, if lawmakers are not willing to speak up, were basically tacitly allowing this to happen on our own soil. They are concentration camps. I know people get up in arms about words and semantics and i understand why but we need a call asap a days eight, otherwise were just going to allow it to continue. Amy were going to go to break and come back to our discussion with John Carlos Frey, five time Emmy Awardwinning Investigative Reporter and pbs newshour special correspondent. His new book is called sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border. He will tell us what happened to his own mother who had a green card and lived in this country. Stay with us. [music break] amy tamacun by the mexican guitar duo rodrigo y gabriela. This is democracy now , im amy goodman, with juan gonzalez. As we continue our discussion with John Carlos Frey, author of sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border. Juan it chronicleit decades of deadly bipartisan immigration policy, but also examine the border through the personal history of John Carlos Freys family. John, youre born into a one a, but in tijuana, but you lived virtually all of your life in the u. S. On the san diego side of the border. Within eyesight of the border. You talk in your book about a very moving story about what happened to your mother who was a permanent resident, a green card holder in those days, that had enormous impression on your view of the immigration problem. Right. I watched my mother be deported before my eyes, even though she of legal residency in the u. S. Juan could you read that . Theres a story about it in the book. My mother was a mexican woman with dark features and dark skin. She spoke english with an accent. That day as she walked seemingly alone are long the road, moving toward her where i was, she caught the attention of her Border Patrol agent who was looking for migrants. Agents would drive up and down our streets regularly, always on the lookout for brown faces. This one stopped to question my mother about her immigration status, asking for identification. She told him she lived just up the road and could get id from home. The agent did not believe her. She told him her husband was in the house. He still. Believer. She told him she lived in the United States for 20 years and that i, her son, was playing nearby. Set up list into my mothers place, the agent put her in handcuffs and in the back of his patrol car. She was deported. Obviously, not legally deported, but she was into Holding Facility in tijuana and my father the next day when we found out where she was, had to go with her papers to get her back across. She never left the house again without her papers. She had a stack of papers proving her legal residency. She never knew when she was going to be stopped. Mentioned this whole demonization a mexican migration in your book dates back really to the early 20th century. I was especially struck by the story you told of carmelita in 1917 who some historians have the mexican rosa parks s for her protest. Could you talk about her story . A 17yearold girl. Is,he was a resident of war mexico and a housekeeper in el paso. Every day she would cross the border and worked at a wealthy familys home. This was a common occurrence. He did not need anything to get across the border at the time to work in the u. S. Labor was going back and forth all the time. Then there was a typhus scare that is spread by lice and fleas. It was believed mexicans coming across the border to work were spreading the disease, so they started a delousing station at the border. Migrants coming across to work had to strip naked. They had to be deloused. They had to dip their body in a kerosene bath and their close had to be steamed every single day. Their heads were checked for lice. If they found lies on their bodies or their heads, their hair was shaved off. Then they could go to work. This was an everyday inspection process. Juan if you are living in mexico but working in the u. S. Them every single day you would have to in essence be deloused. Correct. As if we were going through tsa, this whole process of being of being inspected. You could not get into the u. S. Unless you went through the process on a regular basis. She got sick of it. From one day to a next, im not going to do this anymore. She had heard some of the agents were taking photographs and posting them in a local bar of the new to womens bodies. She said im not going to do this. She rallied with a couple of others w waiting to be deloused and it was a major protest that ensued. They had to shut down the port of entry that day. She became a champion for those rights of immigrants being dehumanized and that process. Amy you dedicate your book to my mother, and immigrant who came to america to provide a better life for me and my siblings, to all the mothers and fathers who had the same intention and lost their lives in the attempt. How does what happened to you as a child, seeing your mother handcuffed and sent across the border illegally back to mexico, in form what you do . Talk about your most recent work. You a numberviewed of times. One of those times was Border Agents killing a migrant along the border. I think my own personal history is why i do this. Probably not the only reason. I am a journalist. I am interested in places that are in conflict and going through a peeping of injustice like we are seeing here. But im a bilingual, by National Individual will stop this is my beat. Seeing how my mother was treated, i dont see too many outlets with the exception of yours reporting on the injustices of Border Security. We think migrants are bad and u. S. Is good. So lets build a wall. Lets increase the Border Patrol. Lets make sure they dont come here. We dont really talk about what happens down at the border. With respect to Border Patrol brutality and the way they treat migrants, this is a story that has formed my career. This is why i come and speak with you. It is because of the way thehe u. S. Treats migrants for the most part. You are tatalking about a case where an unarmed 15yearold boy was shot 10 times in the back standing in mexico while a u. S. Agent standing in the u. S. Opened fire and killed him. That Border Patrol agent was indicted and there was a trial and he was found not guiltyy. The boy never raised a weapon. He never raised a weapon. The only thing in his pocket was a cell phone. He is dead. Mexican nationals cannot sue the u. S. For wrongful death. This family is without their kid and no legal recourse. This is u. S. Policy. Juanan you also talk about for true many years, throughout most of the 20th century, there was a fairly fluid situation at the border post of people coming back and forth with not there was a Border Patrol established, but there was not the kind of constant surveillance were seizing of people a and sending them back. Can you talk about the development of the border wall more recent decades . When our secured, there was no fence. Migrants came across the border juan were talking about in the 1960s. Five years ago. Were 40 years ago, there fewer border guards, no fence. People would migrate. They would work in the fields and go home. This was understood and known, even other peoeople were enterig withouout papers. People looked the other way for the most part. Im not quite sure what happened , with a flash pointnt was thate started to militarized u. S. Mexico border. But all of a sudden, immigrants begin criminal and we wanted to wall ourselves off from them. We have more undocumented immigrants i in the united stats and we have ever had because it is hard to get in. When people finally get in, they stay. They bring their families in at a later time when they can. Have this swelling effect because of the way we manage our borders. I dont know we have had a terrorist that is, for mexico. We have not had some sort of attack for mexicans in the United States and all of a sudden we have this militarized infrastructure. It is somewhat of f a mystery to me. I watched all of this happened bit by bit. I think it is a political construct. If i am a politician and want to run on keeping you safe from these immigrants, i could look like a knight in shining armor. I think that is what trump and president before him have done. Juan during the clinton administration, there was a real emphasis on beginning to not only militarize the border, but to go after undocumented immigrants. Interestingly, i remember bill clinton when he was governor of, actually lost an election because he welcomed immigrants. Cubans who are basically housed in one of the facilities and as a result of him welcoming them, you lost the governors race. I think that is why when he finally became president , he reached the conclusion that antiimmigration posture was a better one for a politician in the United States and one of welcoming immigrants. Theres a portion of clintons state of the union speech, his second one, his second year in office, that reads like trump wrote it. Were going to go after illegal aliens, the criminals coming across the border. Were going to fortify the border. Walls, hireto build more guards, keep you safe. Im actually paraphrasing, but that is the gist of his speech. That sounds like trump to me. Bill clinton was the author or is a administration was the author of the border wall and the way we manage the border today. The law set in place and are the ones donald trump is standing on today and allowing him to do what he does. Desk explainng the the progression. In 1994, there was a policy enacted call the border papatrol strategy of 1994. Prevention through deterrence. Lets build border walls in front of san diego, in front of el paso, and a couple of other major cities along the border, and lets purposely forced migration through the deserts and mountains. That is on purpose. Were going to let the terrain take care of them. The Border Patrol knew people would get take, would be dehydrated. This is in the document. And that they may die. That is the policy in place will stop as well as the detention facilities. Everything was geared to the fact we were going to shake people up. A new well they were not going to keep people from coming but if they did come they were going to know we meant business and theyre going to take that message of deterrence back home. We can fastforward 20 years plus today and see it has not worked. Juan and that led to the tragedy that still does not get sufficient coverage, which is all of the migrant deaths. You uncovered a story in brooks county, texas, where a Baylor University professor began unearthing hundreds of skeletots of deadd migrants just in this one county. Could you talk about that . It is a story we covered extensively here. Cemetery where migrants were cororoners who had found bodies in and around the area. If a migrant dies, what you do with the body . In this case the were placed in the County Cemetery as an identified individuals. The graves were unmarked. There were no dna samples taken friday and vacation. In some cases, we found individuals seven buried to her grave site. Dig a hole, put a migrant in the ground. Some were buried four inches below ground. Some were placed in plastic trash bags. It was a massive humanity buried in a way which was inhumane. The anthropologist exhuming the body is called in a mass grave. Amy you told a moving story of mike wilson, a tribal member. Tell us his story, the story of one group of native americans responding to migrants. Mike wilson is a tribal member from an indian tribe, native indian tribe on the u. S. Mexico border. It is a smuggling corridor. On ants come across regular basis and they die in concentration. It is the deadliest region in the American South waste southwest. He, a presbyterian priest at the time, thought his religion and his religious duties called him to action. He started putting water out for migrants in the desert. His o own congregants told him f you put water out, he was going to be attracting migrants into the desert. They fired him and they kicked him off the reservation. This is a man trying to save lives. As a result, lost i dont know you call it, lost his investment. He was defrocked. One for you also write in your book about john hunter, the brother of the conservative republican congressman dou duncn hunter. Duncan hunter was probably the strongest proponent of building walls. His brother, john hunter, was his Campaign Manager and raise money for his campaign as congressman. Congressman Duncan Hunter and was it was probably responsible for the first border walls we got. He was fears about making sure we walled ourselves off from mexico. When the walls when in place in san diego, it forced migration into the desert east of the city and migrants started to die for the very first time. Maybe in the years prior, one or two bodies were found. Right after that, 50, 60, up to 100 migrant bodies. John hunter felt responsible. He started to put water out. To this day, maintains a humanitarian group who continues to put water out in the deserts. Amy you went to a no more deaths camp. We have been covering the story of scott warren. A jury did not find him guiuilt, but it was eta for for his innocence. The Trump Administration at the same time when the uproar was happening araround the clint chd jail, announces theyre going to reprocess you scott, who is a geographer, professor, activist, who has dedicate been dedicated to put out water th the Sonoran Desert with samaritanse ajo and no more. Eaths wil talk about your experience with these camps. It would not affect people any differently than it has but ive seen the bodies. I have walked up to a dehydrated that individual in the desert. I have seen women, Young Children and i have talked to the survivors. Ive got on the journey myself. I know how difficult it is. Ive traveled with them migrant group. The idea a few miniature in providing water and sustenance for someone on that journey it is not necessarily to allow them to get in iegally, it is to save their life. Theres a serious problem in our government if youre going to prosecute individual who is trying to save someones life. I hate to say it, but the more im looking at this lately, were on the stepbystep approach to genocide here. Were in the process of dehumanizing people to such a degree that it is ok for them to die, even to the point where the government is saying, let them die. Lets prosecute the humanitarian who is try to save our life. Lets put him in jail so he cannot say their lives. We are allowing people to die, children in custody, people crossing the border i am passionate about it, but i am also standing on very solid ground here. If you look at any y history whe this kind of a movement has happened, the government has turned its back. Where are the people screaming that this guy saving lives as opposed to trying to put him in jail f for putting watater out . That jimmy is a shock. Juan as someone who is grown up in the border areas, the the basis of been the biggest growth for American Population in the less maybe 50, 60 years. Six of the 10 largest cities in. Merica are in the sun belt san diego, los angeles, phoenix, dallas, houston, san antonio. Where would the southwest be without mexican labor, whether it is domestic mexican n labor r immigrant mexicacan labor . It certainly would not be where it is. We imported that labor to begin with. We had the program were we invited all must find million mexican farmworkers to come and harvest our crops while our men were off to war in world war i. Many of those mexicanamerican neighborhoods were started back in that time. Many of our roots from that culture in the American Southwest come from that labor pool that we had at that time. Amy were going to get a break and come back to our discussion. Were spending the hour with John Carlos Frey, five time Emmy Awardwinning investigative pbs newshour special correspondent who has reported extensively on immigration. His book is just out, titled sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border. When we come back, we look at the connection between climatete changege and migration. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman, with juan gonzalez. John carlos frey is with us for the hour discussing his new book sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border. Were going to turn now to an underreported force driving people to the border climate change. This is a clip from John Carlos Freys project he did with the Weather Channel on the climate migration crisis, where he asks several hondurans about what is happenining to them,m, why theyy join a migrant carav. I find a lot people who worked on farms and sayhey fled because of the ouought. Lten, the drought was really bad. Really b t trout the corncobs were relyly sma. Amonthe farm workers who joed was pedro. We always plant so we n have food ge. Rice, beans and corn. Many people, that is howee suived. A lot us survive on less than one llarar aay. Pps the one thing you could doss sleep. They t traveng t togher, even know they dinonot kn eacach othehebefore. They not a couple, but they em like a family they comfrom a honduran wnwn lleded sta bararra. Amy that is John Carlos Frey interviewing people, part of the Migrant Caravan in mexico city and headed to the United States. He did this project for the Weather Channel on the climate migration crisis. Would you call these climate refugees . 100 . These are people who have farmed their land for millennia. Were talking about where the mines are. Corn and beans have been grown there for hundreds of years will stop all of a sudden, the rains come, the crops start to grow, and then they try out. The rains do not continue. This has been going on for five years. Some places in guatemala, they have 100 crop failure. Most of these communities are based on the agricultural economy. If the crops do not come in, there is no other job. Everything in the town relies on the harvest. I have spoken of people who are living on one tortilla a day. They tried to sell their equipment, animals, land to stay in country. They look for jobs in the major cities close by, and they still have not been able to find work will stop the United Nations has placed 2. 1 Million People from the region, labeled them as foodinsecure. That is the first step right before famine. If this drought continues, were looking at all out famine e from Central America. From what i have foundnd when i was interviewing these people in the caravan, that is one of the major reasons why they are coming. The government does not even acknowledge the fact there is a Climate Crisis and Central America. Juan lets go to another clip from the series you produced with the Weather Channel on the climate migration crisis. This begins with h an attorney o is working with migrants in a caravan traveling through mexico to t u. S. Border. A drop in arorop in ththe cket o owhat comes to the boerer eve mononthevery y ek. An attorney from rtrth carolina who was pt t of a group that has come to mexico to vivise t migigras on u u. Asylum law. Inf following the sty y of a young woman who is fleeing becae of poverty and hunger. She ilivingngn one meal a day. Does s q quali for asylum if ththat ithe e on reasososhe is fleeing . If that is the only reason, unfoununatel shehe wl nott qualify in the u. S. Fleeing forerer life, possibly in ngnger ishe es n notet foooo the waybably is, but the u. S. Sysylum law as itten, it is for people fleei persutution. Not for economic hunger. Talk about that. I was asking her, this woman cant feed her child, is in fear for her life, she was emaciated. Her child was thin. She could not put food on the table. 25 years old by herself with a two year old making this journey from honduras to the United States. I was asking the attorney, what rights do she had when she gets to the u. S. Mexico border . None. S our asylum laws do not allow for someone who is a victim of poverty or hunger to come into the United States. Juan what do you see as the way for here . Clearly, theres still a significant portion of the American Population that is rallying to President Trumps continued insistence on closing the border, yet more more people are continuing to come. Their president is talking about mass raids again, threatening mass raids again. Wherere do you s see the country moving . It getting any better. I dont want to be a pessimist, but this is the worst i have seen it. You haveve a president of the United States who is vilifying these people to the point where it is ok they die. To the pointnt where it t is oke incarcererate children and we treat them inhumananely. That i is ok by our federal government. I dont see anyone in his party speaking out against these actions were advocating on behalf of Migrant Children. Children. This is a serious problem. As long as we have the leader of our country advocating for more of the same, i think we going to see more of the same. It is very hard for congress to break through. Juan would it take possible unrest in the immigrant and Latino Community at levels we have not seen since the immigration protests of 2006 before something will change . We are starting to see. Were seeing democratic candidateses advocating on behaf of these individuals. That is become part of the platform. Ive never seen a public president ive never seen a president ial candidate say publicly that he amy or she. Would advocate. If we get a new Health Care System in this country that undocumented immigrants would qualify. Amy every single candidate raised their hands. I think he is pushing the candidate in that corner. Amy when we last talked to you, you talked about how hundreds of migrants were feared dead in mass graves at the very Goldwater Bombing range in arizona. Are there any updates . There are no updates. The federal government has closed up this region from humanitarian assistance. Theres a stretch of land and arizona that they cross. It is about 30 miles of a bombing range the Border Patrol agents dont touch, human rights advocates, humanitarians dont touch. From thisd 911 calls region. We know people need water. The government has for bidden. Year after year there are petitions to put out some form of humanitarian assistance. I am convinced there are hundreds of bodies that have been left unrecovered. We of an trying for a long we have tried for a long time to get into document up. Juan which brings us to the title of your book sand and blood. Why . This is a region that most people dont know, region of desert and mountain, the most inhospitable terrain in the u. S. This is the path we have allowed migrants to cross. We is seeing gruesome pictures of a father with his child drowned in the rio grande, ststories of people dying in the deserts, the mass graves. We of a casualty list now. War. Is the result of a if we have thousands upon thousands of people who have died as a result of a policy that has not changed, that feels like war to me. I dont think theres a road in new york city if there is a masterful of death caused by the traffic light or the bad curve on the street that it would not be repaired immediately for safety. We have not changed policy analyst 30 years. With a death toll that does not seem to even permeate the members of congress and the administration. Amy what should the president ial candidates be asked . They should be asked if they believe the migrant life is equal to a u. S. Citizens live. And if so, in your what have to treat them as such. Amy we want to thank you for joining us, John Carlos Frey, fivetime Emmy Awardwinning Investigative Reporter and pbs newshour special correspondent and his book is just out called sand and blood americas stealth war on the mexico border. To hear our discussion in spanish, you can go to our website at democracynow. Org. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. Democracy now [captioning made possible by democracy now ] thank you for joining us on nhk newsline from tokyo. We begin this hour with the ongoing tensions between the u. S. And iran. Officials from both sides clashed at an emergency meeting of the watchdog focusing on the uranium enrichment program. The iaea convened on wednesday called at the United States