1930s. By some estimates, 60 of those deported u. S. Citizens. What was an injustice theyve done to us, being an american citizen, for them to send us to mexico when we were not mexicans. Amy we will speak with professor francisco balderrama, coauthor of the Landmark Book decade of betrayal mexican repatriation in the 1930s. And we will be joined by and exwife. S son when they recently flew back into the country from jamaica, immigration authorities asked them if they were muslim. When muhammad ali, jr. , said yes, authorities detained and questioned him and his mother for two hours. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. President trump is heading to capitol hill tonight for his first president ial address to congress, where hes expected to lay out part of his budget plan. On monday, trump proposed increasing the military budget to just over 600 billion, a 54 billion increase, while deeply slashing the budgets of other agencies like the Environmental Protection agency and the state department. Separately, President Trump is also expected to sign an executive order today aimed at reversing president obamas clean water regulation, known as the waters of the United States rule. The regulation covers 60 of the to. s bodies of water in six protect t waters from pollution. The executive order is expected to direct the Environmental Protection agency and other federal agencies to review this regulation and revise or resend parts of its led to not promote economic growth. The senate has confirmed billionaire wilbur ross as commerce secretary in a 72 to 27 vote monday. Ross is worth an estimated 2. 9 billion. He is one of the richest people ever to hold public office. This is massachusetts senator elizabeth war and speaking out against rosss confirmation on monday. Mr. Ross is a wall street billion over the long history of profiting from the suffering of others. He also has shady ties to Vladimir Putins russia. This is not normal. And it is shameful if we ignore all of it as we evaluate the president s nominees to critical foreignpolicy and National Security jobs. Amy vermont senator Bernie Sanders and others are mocking President Trump, after trump told a room of state governors that nobody knew replacing the Affordable Care act would be so complicated. Pres. Trump i have to tell you, it is an unbelievably complex suect. No one knew that it could be so complicated. And because senator sanders responded on cnn. Sen. Sanders some of us sitting on the committee who went to meeting after meeting after meeting, who heard from dozens of people who stayed up night after night trying to figure out this thing. Yeah, we got a clue. You provide health care in a nation of 300 20 million people, yeah, it is very, very complicated. Amy President Trump has accused his predecessor, president obama, of being behind a series of leaks coming out of the white house. During mondays taped interview on fox friends, trump also accused obama of being behind the mass protests at republican town halls. Pres. Trump i think he is behind it. I also think it is politics. Bush was not going after clinton. Clinton was going after bush. Trump are you never know what is going on behind the scenes. You never know. I think president obama is behind it because his people are certainly behind it. Some of the leaks, possibly come from that group. Some of the leaks, which were very serious leaks because of terms of National Security. But i also understand that is politics. In terms of him being behind things come up that is politics. In a code that is President Trump accusing former president obama of being behind the leaks coming out of the white house. Yet, White House PressSecretary Sean Spicer seems to believe his own staff are behind the leaks, and he recently forced them to submit to a random phone check, according to politico. Checking to see if they were communicating with reporters. Former president george w. Bush criticized President Trumps war on the media in an interview monday with today show host matt lauer. Did you consider the media to be the enemy of the American People . I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need an independent media to hold people like me to account. Power can be very addictive. It can be corrosive and it is important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere. Amy during interview, today show host matt lauer also asked former president george w. Bush about trumps muslim travel ban, which temporarily blocked all people from seven majority muslim nations from entering the United States before the ban was suspended by the courts earlier this month. Are you for or against the ban . I am for an immigration policy that is welcoming and upholds the law. Amy President Trump is expected to unveil a new version of the travel ban any day now. Jewish schools and Community Centers in 11 states were hit by another wave of bomb threats monday. It marks the fifth wave of threats against jccs and jewish schools nationwide over the past two months. At least two jewish cemeteries have also been desecrated in recent weeks. Over the weekend, as many as 500 gravesites at a Jewish Cemetery in philadelphia were toppled or damaged. While President Trump issued a Statement Last week decrying the bomb threats after enormous pressure, many say his administration has fostered a culture of hate against jews, as well as muslims, that has contributed to the rise in antisemitic and islamophobic attacks nationwide. Trumps Justice Department has dropped part of its legal objection to texass strict voter id law, which appeals courts have ruled illegally discriminates against blacks and hispanics and violates the Voting Rights act. Obamas Justice Department had sued texas as part of an ongoing lawsuit against texass 2011 law, which created a list of ids required to vote that skewed heavily towards ids carried by whites, such as conceal carry permits, while excluding ids often carried by people of color, such as Government Employee ids and Public University ids. Obamas Justice Department claimed texas had a discriminatory intent in enacting the law. But under the direction of trumps attorney general jeff sessions, the Justice Department has now dropped the discriminatory intent claim. Sessions has long opposed the Voting Rights act and major civil rights groups, including the naacp, had protested his confirmation as attorney general. House Intelligence Committee chairman devin nunes says he hasnt found enough evidence of communications between President Trumps associates and russian officials to justify appointing a special prosecutor to investigate, even though there hasnt been an investigation in order to obtain that evidence. Instead, nunes is trying to shift focus onto the leaks coming out of the white house, calling them major crimes. Nunes stance puts him at odds with other republican lawmakers, including former House Oversight and government reform chairman darrell issa, who on monday called for an independent investigation. A new investigation by the guardian has revealed that leaked Court Documents allege honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres murder nearly one year ago was planned by honduran military intelligence members who are linked to the countrys u. S. Trained special forces. Caceres was murdered by armed gunmen just before midnight on march 2, 2016. At the time of her murder she , was fighting hydroelectric dams threatening the ancestral land of the indigenous lenca people. The guardian investigation, published today, reveals that at least two men who have been arrested in connection with caceres murder, mariano diaz and douglas giovanny bustillo, received military training in the United States. Honduran prosecutors say phone records reveal extensive communication between diaz, bustillo, and a former Honduran Special forces sniper who has also been charged in the murder. Prosecutors say this man, henry javier hernandez, may have also worked as an informant for the honduran military intelligence. Prosecutors say one of the messages between the three men even includes a coded reference to a payment for an extrajudicial killing. In iraq, the u. S. Backed iraqi army says its recaptured a key bridge in western mosul, amid an Ongoing Campaign to retake this side of the city from isis militants. Humanitarian aid organizations have issued dire warnings about the safety of the 750,000 People Living in west mosul. The Campaign Comes as a report issued this month by the institute for study of war is already warning that another postisis insurgency is already forming in iraq. The report reads early indicators suggest that a postisis sunni insurgency may be forming in iraq and al qaeda is trying to gain traction within it. The u. S. Backed coalition has been focused only on eliminating isis, not other insurgent groups or the conditions that grow them. Unnamed u. S. Officials, as well as monitoring groups like the syrian observatory for human rights, say a top al qaeda leader has been killed by a missile strike in idlib, syria. Abu al khayr almasri was reportedly killed sunday in an attack that unnamed u. S. Officials say was directed by u. S. Intelligence agencies. In separate attacks, opposition activists say as many as 11 people were killed monday night in airstrikes against rebelheld idlib. The strikes came as another round of talks continue in geneva aimed at ending the ongoing syrian civil war. Back in the United States and kansas, a white man who is accused of opening fire on two indian men last week, killing one, cured in court monday via video link on charges of firstdegree murder and first a great him to murder. Is accused of fatally shooting Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounding Alok Madasani last wednesday. He reportedly yelled get out of my country at the two indian men, before opening fire. New reports suggest purinton believed the two men were iranian. A bartender at an applebees where purinton went after the shooting told a 911 dispatcher that purinton said he shot and killed two iranian people. Authorities have not yet said whether they are investigating the murder as a hate crime. At least two black transgender women have been murdered in new orleans in recent days. On monday, police say Ciara Mcelveen was stabbed to death, only two days after 33yearold chyna gibson was fatally shot outside a shopping center. They are the fifth and sixth reported murders of transgender women this year. Earlier this month, 24yearold keke colliers was killed in chicago, and 23yearold jojo striker was murdered in toledo, ohio. And for the first time in the 130year history of the harvard law review, its president is a black woman. 24yearold imeime umana, the daughter of nigerian immigrants, was elected as the president of the United States most prestigious law review at the end of january. It is the most powerful student position at harvard law school. Among others who have occupied the position was former president barack obama. 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. President trump is heading to capitol hill tonight and is expected to outline part of his budget plan before a joint session of congress. On monday, trump proposed increasing the military budget to just over 600 billion, a 10 increase, while deeply slashing the budgets of other agencies likely including the Environmental Protection agency and the state department. Trump said he wanted historic increase in military spending. Pres. Trump this budget will be a Public Safety and National Security budget. Very much based on those two with plenty of other things, but very strong. It will include historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of america at a time we most need it. This is a landmark event, a thesee to the world in dangerous times of american strength, security, and resolve. We must ensure our courageous servicemen and women have the tools they need to deter war and when called upon, to fight, in our name, only do one thing win. We have to win. We have to start winning wars again. Juan california congresswoman barbara lee responded on twitter by writing trumps morally bankrupt budget will funnel more money to the pentagon at the expense of the poor and our planet. This is an awful idea. The United States already has by far the Largest Military budget in the world. According to the National Priorities project, the pentagons annual budget is roughly the size of the worlds next seven Largest Military budgets combined. Amy meanwhile, some republicans in congress, including john mccain, are criticizing trump for not seeking even more money for the military. We go now to boston where we are joined neta crawford, codirector of the costs of war project and a professor of Political Science at boston university. In september, she released a report that found the United States has spent nearly 5 trillion since the september 11, 2001 attacks on Homeland Security and the wars in iraq, afghanistan, syria, and pakistan. Professor crawford, welcome to democracy now can you talk about what President Trump himself is calling this historic increase that he is asking for for the military . A 10 increase . It is his stork. There has been no increase of this magnitude in peacetime, in fact, since 2002 when the United States was running up for the iraq war. So in recent war memory. This is unprecedented. Amy and your response to it . Well, look there is no grand strategy here. It is unclear to what purpose all of this money will be put. Anyone who calls for even more spending i think is missing the point. The United States has this year a military budget of 583 billion. Billion will take us well into the 600 billion a year. Thist a grand strategy for increase, what is it to be spent on . Hurt theust, in fact, United States domestically and abroad. I think make us more insecure. Juan professor crawford, the way that trump has explained it, he is looking for increases in all the branches of the military and in addition, missile capacity. Were talking about this is not a Strategic Plan to increase what we think may be a critical portion of the United States military. Just an overall increase, isnt it . Right. He will increase the nuclear arsenal, increase the capacity of it to make more flexible nuclear wars if that were possible. He is when increase the size of the army, increase the size of the marines, an increase the surface and submarine force of the United States maybe maybe. United states already has more than a dozen aircraft carriers. Many submarines. We dont really need to increase the size of the navy. It can do what it needs to do, but it is unclear what it needs to do. There is no larger picture here other than more is better. That is not, to me, a plan. In fact, the United States could decrease its military spending by 10 , 20 , in fact, and be just as say, probably more say. Juan in increased militarization of society . The president is also proposing a 10,000 increase in Border Patrol agents. It almost seems he is basically redirecting much of the budget into militarizing americans as eydie. Well, it is always already the case that more than half of Discretionary Spending is spent on the military. So this will increase all Discretionary Spending that goes toward armed forces. When you add the increased budget dollars security, the Border Patrol, it is you are right, a militarization of the United States domestical