Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20170228

We will look back at a largely forgotten period in u. S. History when more than one million possibly 2 Million People were deported to mexico in the 1930s. By somome estimates, 60 of thoe deported u. S. Citizens. What was an injustice theyve done to us, being an americanan 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 anand 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 expepectedo 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 the waters from pollution. The executive order is expected to direct the Environmental Protection agency and other fefederal agencies to review ths regulation a and revise or resed 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 overer the long historyf profiting from the suffering of others. He also has shady ties to vladimimir putins russia. This is not normal. And it is shameful if we igignoe 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 mockiking President Trump, after trump told a roooom of state govererns that nobody knew replacingng the Affordable Care act would be so complicated. Pres. Trump i have to tell you, it is an unbelievably complex subject. No one knew that i it could be o complicated. And because senator sanders respsponded 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 stayeyed up night after night trying to figure out this thingng. Yeahah, we got a clue. Yoyou prove e health c 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 i 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 Press Secretary Sean Spicer seems to believe his own staff are behind the leaks, and he recentltly 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 mondayay with ttod shshow hot matt lauerer. Did you consider r the medido be the enemy of f the American People . . I i consider r the mediaia to e indispensable e to democracy. We need an independent media t o hold peoplple like me toto acco. Power can n be very a addictive. It can bee cororrosive andnd its important r ththe media t to cal 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 communityty 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 threatsts after e enormous pressurere, many say his administratition has fostered a culture of hate against jews, as well a 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 ruruled 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, i 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 investigigation by t the guardian has revealed that leaked Court Documents allege honduran envnvironmental activit 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 fightingng 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. Backeded iraqi army says its recaptured a key bridge in western mosul, amid an Ongoing Campaign to retake this side of e e city from isisis 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. Ththe strikes came as another round of talks continue in geneva a 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 t week, kikillig one, cured in coourt 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 believeved the two m men were iranian. A bartrtender at an n applebees where pupurinton went t after te 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,y,olice say y 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 beforere a joint session of congresess. On mononday, trumpmp 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 thihings, t very strong. It will include historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of a america t 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 warr ad 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 i is an awful idedea. 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 presesident trump hihimself 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 mamarines, 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 mililitary spending by 10 , 2 20 in fact, and be jujust as say, probably morore. 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 militarary. 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 domestically as well. You see this when you go out to places on the border, for instance, most recently where i was in standing rock, that surplus military equipment is deployed at home. What we will have more surplus military equipment because what will happen is the United States military will buy new things and they will have a desire to get rid of that surplus so they do not have to store it and maintain i it, they will give it to the police and Border Patrol and to other countries which will, in fact, we will see that military quitman abroad and well see how devastating using military equipment designed for can be. Ome amy speaking to the National Governors association on monday, President Trump criticized u. S. Mililitary spending in the midde east. Pres. Trump i saw a chart the other day, as of f about a month ago, 6 trillion we have spent in the middle east. 6 trillion. I want to tell you, that is unacceptable. And we are nowhere. Actually, if you think about it, were less than nowhere. The middle east isis far worse than it was 16, 17 years ago. 6 trillion. We have a hornets nest. It is a mess like you never seen before. We are nowhere. So we are going to straiain it out. Amy that isresisident trump citing your figures, professor crawford, from the cost of war project. Your response . He does not quite have it right, but it would take too long to correct him. The gist of it is, yes, we spent a great deal of money in iraq, afghanistan, pakistan, and other parts of the world including yemen, making war. What he does have right is were not much better off, in fact, many ways, we are worse off. In afghanistan, the government controls less territory now than a year ago and a controlled less territory a year ago than it did the year before that. The number of taliban and other insurgents in afghanistan has in fact grown since they diminished the number of those forces in the mid2000s. It is about 40,000 people estimated to be in those movements. You cannot kill everybody, in other words, and expect that to work because people do not like being questioned around and bullied. Well, theumument assumptition that we spend more money then we have already spent is going to get better, i think, is on the face of it, the logical without a plan. , without a plan. The worst part, if you think of it, we are committing ourselves to not just spending an extra 54 billion this year, but because of the way the budget works, were committing ourselves if we buy big weapons and increase the number of people in the military to spending year afafter year that amount. You do not just spin it one year. You make commitments to buy weapons and that takes time. And you make the memos to be able to provide for the health carere, and that does not go awy after yeyear. We arere committing huge amountf spending for what . There is no plan. For decades. Juan the 54 billion increase aso is going to be create 54 billion reduction in the expenditures for other agencies. The impact is such a large of such a large reduction on nonmilitary . The first is we have urgent priorities at home. Each 1 million spent on the military, not to mention the aliens, actually produces fewer jobs per dollar the nonmilitary spending. That has been clear for decades. It is illogical to think this is going to help the United States domestically. Obvious, i think it is that the militarization of the , not just jobsat are lost, but opportunities are lost in the future to do important work. Then there are International Consequences for such increases in spending. Say, decrease in, lets and carmel protetection. Environmental l protection. As the climate gets worsese, unrestst gets grereater. Onwe e decrerease spending diplomacy, the things were the United States could make a positive difference through diplomacy, that is not war, diminish because it has already been underemphasized. The last several secretaries of defense have asked the United States to increase money on climate and on diplomacy. The state department. They have wanted justst the opposite of what this government amy and President Trump has just said they are going to vastly decrease the budget for the state department as reueutes reports more than 100 20 retired u. S. Genererals and animals urgd Congress Monday to fully fund u. S. Diplomacy and foreign aid saying elevating and strengthening diplomacy and development alongside defense are critical to keeping america safe. I want to ask you, professor crawford, about President Trump calling for a new nuclear arms race. Again, what for . The United States already has several thousand Nuclear Weapons ready to be deployed, that is used against adversaries. These weapons are capable of destroying much of the planet. There is no reason, in fact, to develop more accurate or more usually used Nuclear Options other than the quest to maintain superiority. But we are already superior. What it does, in fact, is increase the incentive for our adversaries to increase the quality and quantity of their nuclear forces. It is absurd. Amy we want to thank you for joining us, professor neta crawford, codirector of the costs of war project and a professor of Political Science at boston university. We will link to your study at democracynow. Org. Have twoome back, we segments. Later in the broadcast, we will be speaking with the son of. Uhammad ali from the United States, when out of the country for black History Month. When he came back, he was stopped at the airport, questioned about his religion. Muslim. But first, we are going to look back in history at a time that many are deeply concerned might be harbinger of what is to come. Stay with us. [music break] amy joan baez, song written by. Oody guthrie this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with juan gonzalez. Juan President Donald Trump is slated to give his first president ial address to congress today. Democratic l lawmakersrs have bn giving their tickets away to immigrants as a protest against trumps push to increase deportations and to block residents from some muslimmajority countries from entering the United States. Last week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sasaid trp wants to take the shackles off ofof the nations immigration agents. The president wanted to take the shackles off individuals in these agencies and say, you have a mission. There are laws that need to be followed. You should your mission and follow the law. A makeup last thursday, plandent trump called his during a meeting with manufacturing ceos by saying jump to were getting really bad dudes out of this country. At a rate that nobody is ever seen before. They are the bad ones. It is a military operation because what is been allowed to come into our country, when you see Gang Violence that you read about like never before, all of the things, much of that is people here illegally. But not toughtec, like our people. So we are getting them out. Juan this is not the first time people of mexican descent have been demonized, accused of stealing jobs, and forced to leave the country. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, more than one billion people residing in the United States were deported to estimated within 60 of them were u. S. Citizens of mexican descent. Amy there were h hearings heldn sacrament were for survivors gave t testimony about whatt happened to them during the forced expulsions, which the government called repatriations. This is senator dunn stressing the importance of the hearing. Idea from which this nation was born was the promise to all of liberty and justice. Today we examine the tragic part of American History where we betrayed the justice part of that promise. Affected ayal that Staggering Number of individuals. S. I some estimates, almost 2 million individuals were deported from the United States in the 1930s. Estimate almost 60 of those that were deported were United States citizens. And they were deported for but one reason they just happened to be of mmexican descent. Amy the state of california went on to issue a formal apology for its role in the expulsions and built a memorial in Downtown Los Angeles to commemorate the victims. But many fear that history is now on the verge or repeating itself are ready. For more, we go to los angeles, california, where were joined by the preeminent scholar on this often overlooked chapter of American History, francisco balderrama, professor of American History and chicano studies at california state university, los angeles. He is coauthor of decade of betrayal mexican repatriation in the 1930s. Professor balderrama, welcome to democracy now i think for many, especially young people, but i am sure many more, do not know this chapter of American History. Can you lay it o out for u us wt actually h happened yethough you are right that it is largely not known and in the larger american socociety, the mexican nation as well as in the Mexican Community itself that this occurred during the great depressioion, a period of vast unemployment and underemployment that at least over one million 2 millionhinks almost individuals, mexican nationals and american citizens of mexican descent were swept up and expelled out of this country. It covered the entire United States from alabama and mississippi to alaska, from los angeles to new york. This mass expulsion occurred. And of a population that included mexican nationals, many of them that had lived in this country 20, 30 years, but increasingly important is the 60 are more of american citizens of mexican descent. In othther words, what occurrd here was unconstitutional deportation. Professor, im wondering if you could talk also about the role of the press at that time in stirring up antiimmigrant fervor. This began during the Hoover Administration and moved on to the roosevelt the administration. What was the role of the press as well . The role of the press is significant, b but it is also reflecting the larger American Society at this time as well. The key notion that the press puts forward is that a mexexican is a mexican. There is no distinction in t tes. F residents in this country as i mentioned earlier, many of them had lived in this country, 20, 20 five years. S. Most of them were documented. Most of them had papers. And their children that were born in this country were u. S. S. Citizens. No distinctions made. And that is accepted in this society and serves as a way of looking at the population that even know they had contributed duriring better r times of e ecc prosperity of the u united stat, that now that is not recognized. They are the other, so to speak. Amy i want to turn to ignacio pina, who lived in rural idaho when sheheriffs cacame to his he and took everybody in custody in the summer of 1931. His parents had lived in the Uniteded States for some 25 yeas. He was about to enter first grade. Were taking this from a film called a forgotten injustice, and a now elderly pina describes what happened that day. Cooking. Her was i remembeber we were eating tortillas with melted butter. Then all of a sudden, they arrived. They pointed their guns at us. One officer was standing outstse. The other w was inside and they said, come on, lets go. Come on. I mother would ask him where . They answered, no questions, come out. Amy not eveven our birth certificates. Hat was ignacio pina you knew him. Can you tell us more about the story and how typical it was . Called thee pina after the hearings in sacramento. We conducted extensive interviews. Getting to meet his family, his son should with me he no longer has the nightmares. This m man was expressing them well into his 80s because he wawas able to o share his storyh us. , who recently is deceased, becoming an activist in regards of the apology act and the direction of the memorial here in los angeles. I think it shows an individual that suffered with this throughout his life that even had nightmares as a Senior Citizen about that, became an activist and shared that story multiple times to the press, to the television, on and on, with the conviction that as many of the other survivors, that this. Ot happen to anybody else when he said that in the other survivors, not to happen to ananyone else,e, he just does it meet people of mexicican descent for latino d descent. Rather, whwhat he is saying is anybody else. And especially those that are american citizens. It should not happen. We should not have unconstitutional deportation. Juan professor balderrama, he specialilized in the mass specializedns you in the mastech rotations of the 1930s. But in the 1950s, there was operation went back under the eisenhower administration. Of course, during the bush years and into the obama years, there was a mass deportation that occurred. It seems every time there is an economic crisis in the United States, the first reflex is to start mass deportations of the other a as the society begigino declare them. Exactly ,juan. You are right on target with that. That we do have these cycles. What behooves American Society toto understand is that this eay period i have studied, the early 20th century and the Great Depression, which is the most severe economic crisis of the 20th and 21st century, is the time,hat at that developed t this ideology, this set of beliefs, this way of thinking of the mexicanlatino population that somehow they are not part of our society. That many of them are criminals. Many of them appear to be on welfare. That somehow, someway, they cannot become part of our society. Think what is especially important to keep in mind for your listeners is that as we experiencece the nightmare of today, the crisis of today that whicich is differentnt, that sae ideology, that same way of in actions still today. Amy i want to go, professor balderrama, to your late coauthor Raymond Rodriguez. This is rodriguez speaking at committee o onct cititizen participation at t the california state senate. And 193936, when i was 10. I never saw w my dad again. Going toybody compensate me for that loss . Amy that was Raymond Rodriguez, youre coauthor. Can you tell us about him and alsoamilys experience and why just mexicans . Was it only mexicans . Well, amy bececause 60 o of them pes wewere americacans. My colleague Raymond Rodriguez was a very dear friend. We spoke with one voice when we wrwrote decade of betrayal. I had known ray for some 20 years at the time that we completed the First Edition of decade of betrayal. At that moment, i learned his father had been every patriot. At that moment when ththe book s finished and we were cementing it to the publisher. I knew they had grown up with a single parent and with the mother only, but i did not know what had happened to his father. ,n a lot of ways, my coauthor my treasured friend, his work together, his scholarship as well as his activism, was trying to uncover that history, his own family history. We see that thread among others as well. Who inherer individuals understanding this issue from reading decade of betrayal, from hearing your radio program, from looking at this and understanding this, have developed a larger understanding. What we have seen happen is that this private history has now become a public history. As they dealle, with this, try to become a public history come that e even though ray in the excerpt you just played was the very first time that publicly he announced that his father had been a rep atriot. What happened divided his family. His mother and siblings stayed in the United States and his father returned to mexico, and he never saw his father again. Juan professor balderrama, this whole issue of repatriation, the u. S. Government labeled it repatriation because it claimed the people were voluntarily agreeing to go back to their home country. But as you know, as you reported and happens right here in the United States now, people are picked up, lococked up, and then told, if you dont want to stay locked up, then you agree to be to self deport. In essence, leave the country and go back to your home country. It is really a choice of staying in jail or having a chance possibly to come back legally at some other t time. Juan, you are right about that. But looking at it in the context of the 1930s, repatriation was a coverup word. 1930s time, which marks different than today, is the big source of this expulsion is on the local level. It is in the cities and counties that took upon themselves to say to their communitys, there is enough jobs for real americans if we can get rid of these other people. So l. A. County and other counties throughout the nation them preressured mexican familis to leaveve. Even though mexicans, from mymy research, never were a large percentage of those that were on welfare. But to the notion or the idea that mexicans were on n welfare. County, they began to call their actions deportation. The legal counsell says, no, you cannot do that. Only the federal governmnment cn do that. And that is where e the word repatriation is on, so to speak, to be used in that to maketo cover it u up, it look clean, to make it look like it is voluntary. At the same time, you public raid, at the same time you hae the press, talking about unwanted m mexicanamericans all of these actions are very coercive. Amy finally, professor balderrama, your response to what is happening today and the parallllels you see and the ways you can see a avoiding history rerepeating itself . Obviously, this is a nightmare. Obviously, the legacy of this is in the Mexican Community even before this happened, i know many senenior citizens who wowod carry around their papers, their documentation, whatetever they d in fear they might get cauaughtp in a sweep. Now, obviously, those same feelings arere being reported daily in the press about people staying g home, people fearful o goutut and buy groroceries. So that has reteturned. But what i think marks t t difference betetween the past ad today is the simple fact that we have come in the Mexican Community, different groups the Mexican American Legal Defense fund and education fund, other groups, and more importanantly, the different across at the, progressive grououps togetether whether thee japaneseamericacan am a whether they be jewish american, the various other groups who haveve come to gather and are very conscious ofof what is happening and are dedicated to those thisns of activism to stop what is occurring. Amy francisco balderrama, professor of American Historyy and chicano studies at california state u university, s angeles. Coauthor of decade of betrayal mexican repatriation in the 1930s. We will link to that book as well as yoursj,uan, harvest of emempire the whole story would you include this as well. The son ofe back, mohammed ali and his mother joineded us. Why were they stoppeded . American citizens, when they came back to this country . Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with juan gonzalez. Juan argue a m muslim . Are you muslim . Where did you get your name from . That was the question posed by immigration officials to thehe n of the late boxing legend muhammad ali earlier this month when he flew into florida from jamaica after attending a black History Month event. When muhammad ali, jr. , said he was a muslim, authorities reportedly held him and questioned him for nearly two hours. Ali was traveling with his mother, khalilah camachoali, the boxing greats second wife and mother of his four oldest children. She was also briefly detained. Amy thehe incident occurred on february 7, days after trump signed an executive order banning people from seven majoritymususlim countries. For more, were joined by muhammad ali, jr. , his mother, khalilah camachoali, and their attorney chris mancini. Welcome to democracy now i just went to montego bay last week. I flew in back to the United States and no one asked me about my religion. , can you tell, jr. Us what happened to you when you flew in from montegogo bay on february 7 . I was headed to baggage claim and immigration for me aside and asked me a series of queststion. The first question asked m me w, what is my name . The second question was, where did i get my name from . The third question was am m a wt religion are you . I answered, my name is muhammad ali and i got my naname from my mother and father who raised me and gave me the name from birth. Muslim. I am obviously, i think i did not believe me, so they took him to another into the back and asked me the same series of questions. It reaeally s struck me as s a awe becauseock, and im an american citizen so i dont know what he stopped me in the first place. Amy what did he keep asking you in the second room . The same questions as when he pulled me aside. What is my name, where did i get money from, and what was my religion . , you khalilah camachoali are separated. You came in together. What happened to you . We came in together. We were in wheelchairs because we cannot stand. Together. I said, that is my son over there. Him said they ignored and rolled them out. I said, youre taking my son. They said, he will meet you on the other side. I did not understand what was that about. They told me to go around and go in another room. I was going, why are they separating us . That is what sin of the red flag. Honestly, something was in place. Place for thisn action. They asked me the same t thing. They said, we know you are muhammad alis where do you live . What is your religion . I said, my religion . Are you kidding me . I said, that is a personal question. Is my papers in order . They said, what is your religion . Ok, i will comply. I said, i am a muslim. My daughter was freaking out. I did not understand. Want to aske just you a few questions, thats a a. They weree very kind. But they never said why they asked me to questions. Amy apparently, since then, they havave said that they were not stopping you because of your religion, mohammed. Do you believe that . If they did not stop me for my religion, why would they ask me what my religion is . Is contradictory. Juan were you in that room by yourself . There were other people in the room beiei questionened, bui was the e only one that was actually muslim and black in the room. Amy has this ever happened to you . This is the first time. I have been to england i year ago,o england a and nobody approached me or asked me any question like that. Amy khalilah camachoali . I just came back from paris, france, two weeks earlier. I was alone. They did not bother me at all. When i had my son with me, it totally changed. , yourchris mancini reaction when you were contacted and heard about this . Withyou heard any exchahange the immigration official since then . We are thinking about trying to wave her privacy rights and demanding an explanation from Customs Service and an apology. As im sitting here listening to lah, have to laugh also the difference of f what happepened between me two is partly the difference between our personalities. That should not be a factor whatsoever in the way y custom streets you. Halilah recognized immediately that there were questioning her about stuff shehe is constitutionally protected from hahaving to answer. Mohammed get strike back there alone and there are separated and it was quite obvious to both of them that t this was deliberate. Some people have asked is, could this have been a rogue agent just decided . ,his was to separate agents ashley two separate groups of agents, as for as i can tell, having been the United States prosecutor promised 10 years, this is the type of thing that customs, Border Patrol does when they want to develop a profile. We have been getting calls. We have been getting emails from all over the countrtry. Andd the two things that people are saying, the fifirst one is heartbreaking, do you think i should deny my religion so i can get into the country w without being hassled . That is heartbreaking. The other call calls we are getting, you know, i am a muslim and they asked me the same thing. Then they had a list of questions where do you pray . What i im do you p practice wit . Would you read . Do you pray fifive times a day . Or you a member of gareet something i cant remember the name s ect . So i dont cacare what customs said. Secondbelieves for one that these two people, to belly the alis separated like this, question like this, and it is just an accident. It is not possible. Amy were here with the alis, muhammad alis father does your father was born caches clay. Muhammad ali would later change his name after joining the nation of islam. Many news outlets initially refused to use his new name. The debate over his name even extended into the ring. During a famous 1966 interview with howard cosell, muhammad ali accused challenger ernie terrel of being an ununcle tom fofor refusising to call him muhammad ali. You continue to be unafraid. I wouould like to say somethg riright here. Cash i is clay, yes what you u want to say that when everyone else is calling me muhammad ali echo what he had to keep saying cash is clay . Howard goes hell is nonot the onone whos going g tt yoyou. Hardu have made it really on yourself nowow. Why dodo you call l me by my na . What is your name . My name is muhammad ali. Youre acting just like amy just in that fight, mohammed ali repeatedlys tormented in my screaming, what is my name . What is my name . What you think your father would say at the airport in fort lauderdale, hollywood, if you are as you are stopped d as you were . [speaking like muhammad ali] by name is muhammad ali. Are the sonhat you of a man who is revered throughout the world . My fatherthem that was muhammad ali, but it did not speed up the process. I think it made things worse. [laughter] of me andictures mohammed at the airport because there were travelers asking for autographs. I said, see, this is me. It kind of cooled off, but they still detained me anyway. It kind of cooled off, but they still detained me anyway. Dont you miss muhammad ali . Have become the focus. Were getting calls from all forms of muslim organizations all forms of support groups. I believe them although they did not ask for this fight, they took on the wrong people. I think theyre going to become the focus and a rallying point for this struggle. As far as the lawsuit, we are working towards that. Were trying to get everybody who was similarly profiled to contntact us or contact an ororganization that we can work with. If anything, mohammed fought for respect. And so is his wife and son. We have to carry on the legacy. We have to help others because other people that have a problem, they dont have a voice. We have to stand u up and be a voice. Think about the muslims as citizens of the United States. The haj is a practice we do. Should they be worried about getting back to the country, to the families . Amy it cannot be denied the alis fire fighters. Thank you for joining us. [captioning made possible by democracy now ] vp earth tre i is ma posossie by the generousupport oshilo inns, withocationshroughouthe western ited stes. 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