♪ [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica this is democracy now! >> yesterday it was reported the justice department under jeff sessions said it was time for an investigation on whether white students are being discriminated against. it is a shift because the justice department has tried to vindicate the historically marginalized groups, and now we are in a situation where we find out that white americans, who were over-represented in most areas of life, are the ones being discriminated against. amy: civil advocates are

expressing alarm as the justice department appears to be preparing to investigate and sue university permitted action policies for antiwhite bias. we get the latest. the trump administration faces heat after backing a bill to cut illegal immigration by half. jim acosta: the statue of liberty says gives me your tired, your poor -- it is not said anything about speaking english or being a computer program. mr. miller: the poland you alluded to was -- poll him he was alluded to was added later. will look at how president trump may have found a reason to prolong the nearly 16-year-old war. afghanistan's uncapped mineral deposits, which could be worth nearly a trillion dollars. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president donald trump on wednesday embraced a proposal to slash the number of immigrants allowed into the u.s. by half, in what would be the biggest overhaul of immigration law in over half a century. the raise act, or reforming american immigration for strong employment, would create a so-called "merit-based" immigration system that would favor applicants who speak english, have advanced degrees or can demonstrate job skills. trump unveiled the bill in a white house ceremony with its republican co-sponsors, senators tom cotton of arkansas and david perdue of georgia. president trump: this legislation will not only theore our competitive edge 21st century, but restore the sacred bond of trust between america and its citizens. this legislation demonstrates our compassion are struggling

american families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first, and puts america first. amy: the raise act would dramatically limit the number of immigrants allowed into the u.s. to reunite with family members. the plan was blasted by democrats and some publicans, -- and opposed by some republicans, including sen. lindsey graham, who said it would hurt agriculture, tourism and service industries. the anne frank center for mutual respect tweeted, quote, "the statue of liberty weeps as she watches trump flush america's moral leadership down the toilet." at the white house senior policy , adviser stephen miller was asked about the inscription at the base of the statue of liberty by cnn's jim acosta, who -- the son of cuban immigrants who came to this country the who 1960's, quoted emma lazarus's poem: "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." this is stephen miller's response.

mr. miller: the statue of liberty is a symbol of inviting the world. the poem you are referring to was added later. amy: cnn's jim acosta went on to press stephen miller over president trump's push to admit only english-speaking immigrants. miller shot back, accusing acosta of "cosmopolitan bias". the pair sparred for several minutes. jim acosta: you are trying to engineer the flow of people into the country. mr. miller: that is one of the most outrageous, foolish things you have ever said. the notion that you think this is a racist bill is so wrong and so insulting. amy: we'll have more on president trump's immigration push later in the broadcast. a federal appeals court has ruled a u.s. citizen in prison by u.s. immigration officials for nearly three a half years can not collect damages awarded

by a lower court. -- watson was 23 years old when i.c.e. agents took him into custody. watson insisted for over three years he was in fact a u.s. citizen, but failed to win untile from i.c.e. november, 2007, until he was released in rural alabama without explanation. watson sued. the second court of appeals overturned the case, warning -- ruling a statute of limitations had expired. president trump reluctantly signed a bill on wednesday imposing new u.s. sanctions on russia, over its annexation of crimea and its alleged meddling in the 2016 u.s. election. the bill was approved by a large and veto-proof majority of it also -- majority of

lawmakers. it also tightens sanctions against iran. in a signing statement accompanying his signature, president trump called the sanctions bill -- at the u.n., russia's ambassador vasily nebenzya denied his country meddled in the u.s. election and said russia would be unbowed by the sanctions. vasily nebenzya: i really wonder if there is anything in the world russia is not guilty of. some said this is something that would encourage russia to cooperate with the united states. amy: on twitter, russian prime minister dmitry medvedev said trump's signature ended hopes of improving us-russia relations, -- relations. the white house admitted wednesday that donald trump never received a thank-you call from the head of the boy scouts of america, as trump claimed, for a speech the president gave last month to about 40,000 boys at the national scout jamboree.

trump made the claim in an interview with the wall street journal whose transcript was later published by politico. in it, trump claims "i got a call from the head of the boy scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful." boy scouts chief executive michael surbaugh and other top scouts officials denied ever calling the president. in fact, last week surbaugh apologized to those who were offended by trump's political rhetoric during his speech. meanwhile, mexican president enrique peña nieto has denied another of trump's claims, made at a july 31st cabinet meeting. mr. trump: the president of mexico called me and said their southern border, very few people are coming because they know they are not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate conflict. amy: -- complement. amy: after mexican officials denied any such call ever took place, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders said the president did not lie about the incident. sanders instead said the conversation happened as trump and peña nieto met in person at last month's g20 summit in germany. she just said it did not happen in a phone call. a senior official has resigned from the environmental

protection agency, citing the trump administration's war on science and administrator scott pruitt's business-friendly ties. elizabeth southerland, a 30-year vet of the epa, endered her -- ended her tenure monday as director of the office of science and technology for the agency's water office. in a public letter of resignation, southerland wrote, quote, "today the environmental field is suffering from the temporary triumph of myth over truth. the truth is there is no war on coal, there is no economic crisis caused by environmental protection, and climate change is caused by man's activities." she wrote. on capitol hill, a newly proposed bill would legalize marijuana on the federal level while withholding federal funds for prisons to states whose marijuana laws disproportionately incarcerate people of color. new jersey democratic senator cory booker unveiled the bill in a facebook live video, warning of the harsh long-term penalties faced by people convicted on marijuana possession charges. senator booker: it is so hard to find a job -- you cannot get business licenses, pell grants,

public housing, even food stamps. so many things are cut off to you. imagine if those arrests are overwhelmingly concentrated in certain communities. we would have been turning and of the poor people in those communities, or minority folks, we're disproportionately large numbers of the black men in that community have been arrested for doing things, or if you went to a college campus and did the police work, you would find a large number of those folks are doing those drugs. amy: senator cory booker's bill would void federal convictions for marijuana possession and would grant new sentencing hearings to those convicted on other marijuana charges. top officers at the u.s. coast guard have come to the defense of transgender service members, following president trump's announcement last week that he would be banning transgender people from serving in the u.s. military. speaking at a forum in washington, d.c. tuesday, admiral paul zukunft, commandant of the u.s. coast guard, said he

personally reached out to all 13 members of the coast guard who have come out as transgender. paul zukunft: i reached out personally to tailor -- and her family has this on her. i told her i will not turn my break -- we have -- back on you. you have made an investment in the coast guard, and i will not turn my faith. amy: president trump's transgender ban was announced on july 26th in a series of three tweets, and caught military leaders by surprise. the chair of the joint chiefs of staff has said he won't implement the policy until the president gives direction to secretary of defense james mattis. in afghanistan, a suicide car bomber rammed a nato-led convoy near a major u.s. base in kandahar wednesday, in an attack the pentagon said killed two u.s. soldiers.

the violence came as the pentagon seeks to send another 4,000 u.s. troops to join 8,700 currently in afghanistan. we will have a discussion on afghanistan later in the program. in greece, syrian refugees protested outside the german embassy in athens wednesday, calling on authorities to quickly review their applications for passage to germany and other european countries. this is forty-one year old mother malak rahmoun, who fled aleppo years ago and has been trapped in greece for two years hoping to reunite with her husband and son in germany. >> i am not suffering from two years in greece -- i am suffering for five years in aleppo till now. i want my kids to go to school. amy: meanwhile, italy's coast guard on wednesday seized a ship operated by german charity, accusing its crew of aiding illegal immigration from libya to europe. on its website, the group

jugend rettet says it saved more than 6,500 migrants last year whose boats were in distress, and who otherwise might have drowned in the mediterranean. brazil's president, michel temer, survived a vote in brazil's lower house of congress wednesday that could have seen him removed from office over corruption charges. lawmakers voted 263-227 to keep temer in power, as opposition lawmakers chanted, waved briefcases stuffed with fake money, and traded punches with the president's supporters. temer remains in office despite a single-digit approval rating, and even though an secretly recorded tape captured him approving hush-money payoffs for a powerful politician jailed on corruption charges. back in the u.s., the naacp has issued its first-ever travel advisory, warning people of color to avoid the state of missouri after governor eric greitens signed a bill blasted by critics as a "new jim crow" law. sb 43 bars workers from suing individuals responsible for alleged bias, and makes it extremely difficult for workers

to win racial discrimination claims against businesses. in a statement, the missouri chapter of the naacp wrote, quote, "individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme caution. sb 43 legalizes individual discrimination and harassment in missouri and would prevent individuals from protecting themselves." the baltimore police department has suspended seven officers after video emerged appearing to show them planting marijuana in a car and arresting its driver on drug charges. the police body cam video shows officers stopping a man and a woman in a car last november. >> what are you stopping us for? what do you mean, step out, what are you stopping us for? amy: the video shows police searching the car, with one officer expressing frustration

over coming up empty handed. the officers then turn off their body cameras, before a new recording begins showing an officer searching part of the car that had already been checked. >> anybody check this. i knew it. d smell rightee there. amy: prosecutors have dropped charges against the driver over suspected police misconduct. it's the second such case in baltimore within recent weeks. a video made public last month appeared to show three other officers planting heroin in an alleyway ahead of a drug arrest. state attorney marilyn mosby says over 100 criminal cases that would have relied on testimony from those officers are now under review, with more than 40 cases already dropped. and in hawaii, police arrested six activists early wednesday as they halted a convoy delivering part of a giant solar telescope being constructed on the island of maui. protesters used plastic "lockboxes" to chain themselves

together as they lay in the street in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. they say one activist lost consciousness and suffered a concussion after officers tackled him to the pavement. native hawaiians say the telescope is being built on sacred ground -- a mountain peak in haleakala national park -- and that the permitting process failed to respect native hawaiian sovereignty. the protests hope to build on a campaign that has successfully halted construction of the thirty meter telescope atop the mauna kea volcano on hawaii's big island. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the new york times is reporting the justice department is preparing to investigate and sue universities' affirmative action policies for anti-white bias, in the latest assault against civil rights by attorney general jeff sessions. the times says the justice department sent out an internal

announcement looking for lawyers to lead quote "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions." the naacp legal defense fund promised to sue the administration if it targets affirmative action policies, saying, "we will bring the full force of the law if this justice department attempts to resegregate our institutions of higher learning." former justice department attorneys have expressed alarm that the project will be run out of an office staffed by trump administration political appointees instead of the educational opportunities section which would normally handle such inquiries. the trump administration is claiming the times report is inaccurate. a department of justice spokesperson said the internal memo dealt not with anti-white bias but an administrative complaint filed by a coalition of 64 asian-american associations in 2015.

the supreme court has upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action policies, which take race and ethnicity into account in college admissions in efforts to address centuries of institutionalized discrimination against people of color and women. we are joined now by nikole hannah-jones, and award-winning reporter covering racial injustice at the new york times magazine. welcome back to democracy now. can you talk about what the paper found even though the trump administration said it was an accurate -- inaccurate? hannah-jones: they were looking to hire people that are opponents of affirmative action, and people took that to mean they will go after what they consider antiwhite bias in the administration policy. amy: explain what you think they are going to take on.

nikole: they are going to take on policies that help alleviate segregated systems. oftentimes colleges will take that into account in the admissions process. the expectation is that the administration, instead of working to vindicate their rights of traditionally historically marginalized and oppressed minorities is now going to be going after what they consider a white majority being addressed, up nearly, by minority groups. on: during the news briefing wednesday, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders was questioned about the new york times article. >> does the president believe that white applicants to college are victims of discrimination? sec. sanders: i am not aware of that.

>> can you explain why the justice department is -- sec. sanders: it is an accusatory question, but i will respond. in your times article is based entirely on leaked information. while the white house is not confirm or deny the existence of potential investigations, the department of justice will also -- always review discrimination on the basis of any race. i've nothing further on that. amy: your response. nikole: it is important to have an understanding of what affirmative action is supposed to do. it is not disadvantaging white students. it is a program designed to address where century -- for centuries the students were denied hireling. -- higher learning. a quote from lyndon johnson -- you do not take some of that has

been hobbled, liberate him, bring them to the starting line, say you are free to compete with the others, and still believe you have been completely fair. we know that elite colleges black americans make up only 5% of students enrolled with affirmative action. so, it is hard to prove that large numbers of white americans are being discriminate against one black and latino students are being investigated in institutions. admiral zukunft: lat -- amy: last year, the u.s. supreme court affirmed the fifth circuit court of appeals in fisher v. university of texas, and held that that the university of texas at austin's race-conscious admission program is lawful under the equal protection clause of the u.s. constitution. i want to turn to the petitioner in the case. abigail fisher says she was rejected by the university of texas because she is white. abigail fisher: there were hadle in my class that lower grades and were not in the

theyities i was in, and were admitted to the point difference was the color of our skin. what younot tell you are. all they do is put you in a box. get rid of the box. amy: that was abigail fisher. you have written extensively in the case. -- on the case. nikole: abigail fisher cannot prove she was discriminated against. the record shows there were black and latino students with better test scores that also did not get in, and white students who had worse test scores did get in. in fact, that case is not a bout -- not about her being discriminate against. it is about a belief by certain conservatives you should never take race into account, even if you are trying to address an

historical legacy of dissemination and ongoing discovery nation. they will tell you -- the lawyer who brought this case -- i interviewed him, and he could not prove abigail fisher was is committed against. really that was irrelevant to him. the understanding of the case was she was treated unfairly. what also was not talked about in texas, the way affirmative action works, if you are a white student, you can also get points for your race. if you happen to go to a heavily black or latino high school, you would get points in the admission process. can you talk about here in new york city -- you have done a lot of reporting here where we are. education,econdary it is actually the most segregated system in the country, and how that is reflected in higher education. nikole: we pretend that college admissions is based on an

aristocracy, that every student is coming from an even playing field, and the best students, the ones that work the higher -- hardest have the highest test scores, have the best grades and should get in. we know that is fundamentally untrue. in new york city, though segregated logical system in the country and across the country, black and latino students are in schools that are the least likely to have college prep resume, higher-level sciences, mapquest -- classes. what that means is they cannot compete with white students who are in far better resourced schools. so when we start looking at college admissions, to say every student should be treated the same i think is just a denial of the facts on the ground, that we know that black and latino students, no matter how hard they work, are not getting the same education as white students are getting. hannah-jones, the issue of who is preferred when it in -- comes to getting into

college, what about this piece propublica and others point out that jared kushner's family basically bought him a spot in harvard. a book about was legacy admissions and how many give extra points to children of alumni, and it was looking at how the league are able to buy their way or by their children's ways into ivy league and other elite schools. father again, i believe, $2.5 million to harvard. the journalists look at the high school the jared kushner went to, and the counselors there said he was not a good student, should not have gotten into harvard, and said there were other students at the school that had far greater merit that they assumed would get in and did not. it is important to understand

what the justice department is doing is not about fairness. it is specifically about race. fairness,uld address there are a host of issues that disadvantaged some students over others an advantage those that have traditionally always been advantage. they are going after programs that are having a minute effect on the number of black and latino american students at institutions of higher learning. amy: we will link to that piece "the story behind jared , kushner's curious acceptance into harvard" by daniel golden. golden wrote a book a decade ago called "the price of admission." in propublica, golden writes quote "my book exposed a grubby secret of american higher education -- that the rich buy their under-achieving children's way into elite universities with massive, tax-deductible donations. it reported that new jersey real estate developer charles kushner had pledged $2.5 million to harvard university in 1998, not long before his son jared was admitted to the prestigious ivy league school.

he also wrote i also quoted administrators at jared's high school, who described him as a less than stellar student and expressed dismay at harvard's decision." now, i wanted to ask about the front page piece in your paper today, "the new york times," "asians become focus of battle on admissions." talk about this. people trying to challenge of affirmative action are very savvy about how to do this. there is a reason why the big affirmative action case that have gone before the supreme court were brought by white women, and night -- not white men. there is a sense they will not feel sympathetic toward white men, but against -- they will for white women, believing that have been discriminate against. they are now working to use another racial minority group to prove their efforts are not racist, not racially divisive. the problem is asian americans, of course, have a very different experience than black americans. they were not brought here,

enslaved, codified under jim crow. most asian-americans who came to this country came after the civil rights movement. prior to the civil rights movement, there were quotas on how may people of color could be allowed into the country. asian-americans come in on work these is an education resources, meaning they are coming in more educated and more resources. they are the most integrated group of racial minorities in the country, live in what give up his and attend middle class, white schools. they are not facing the same disadvantages black and latinos are facing. it is a convenient way to argue that what they are doing is fundamentally about fairness and not about race. amy: it is interesting you say that. in our next piece, we will talk with congress member pramila jayapal about the new anti-immigration the trump administration would like to put forward and support, and one of the arguments -- the extreme --i-immigrant advisor to and

president trump, stephen miller, put forth in the press briefing was his concern for african americans losing jobs because of latinos and others coming into this country and stealing them, so championing african-american community's. nikole: it would be great if they were championing african-american committees in other ways, for instance not attacking affirmative action, voting rights, deciding to no policeinvestigate department set has been accused of violating the rights of black citizens. they are using black americans in this instance in the same way the right is chinese asian-americans in affirmative action here -- action. amy: we will leave it there. we will link to your work, nikole hannah-jones, covering racial injustice with the new york times magazine.

when we come back and we go to seattle -- it is extremely hot there. record heat. we will speak with the congress member from thatrea, pramila jayapal, about the latest policies of the trump administration, integrally foot forward yesterday -- particularly put forward raiseday, the rays -- act, which raises many questions. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "low hymnal" by told slant. here on democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president donald trump on wednesday embraced a proposal to slash the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country by 50% over 10 years in what would be the biggest overhaul of immigration law in over half a century. the raise act, or reforming

american immigration for strong employment, raises many questions. it would create a so-called "merit-based" immigration system that would favor applicants who speak english, have advanced degrees or can demonstrate job skills. the bill would also aim to reduce the number of refugees by half. trump unveiled the bill, which has so far gained little -- president trump praise the bill in a white house ceremony with its republican co-sponsors, senators tom cotton of arkansas and david perdue of georgia. president trump: the united states has issued a record number orants. this policy has place substantial pressure on american workers, taxpayers, and community resources. among those hit the hardest in recent years have been immigrants and very important, minority workers competing for jobs against brand-new arrivals, and it has not been fair to our people, to our citizens, to our workers.

this legislation demonstrates our compassion for struggling american families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first, and puts america first. amy: the raise act would dramatically limit the number of immigrants allowed into the u.s. to reunite with family members. it would end diversity lottery visas and set an annual cap on refugees allowed into the u.s. at just 50,000. the plan was blasted by democratic lawmakers and opposed by some republicans, including senator lindsey graham, who said it would hurt agriculture, tourism and service industries. , on twitter, the national immigration law center wrote, "the raise act would shut the door on hundreds of thousands of families and refugees. it's cruel and un-american." at the white house, in the white house press briefing, senior policy adviser stephen miller was asked about the inscription at the base of the statue of liberty by cnn's jim acosta, the son of a cuban immigrant who could not speak english when he

came to this country. you areta: what proposing or what the president is proposing does not sound like it is in keeping with american policy on immigration -- the statue of liberty says give me your poor, your tired masses. it does not say anything about speaking english were being able to be a computer programmer. aren't you trying to change what it means to be an immigrant coming into this country if you are telling them you have to speak english? can't people learn how to speak english when they get here? miller: first of all, right now, right now it is a requirement if you are naturalized you have to speak english. to suggest you don't have to speak english it would be very ahistorical. secondly, the statue of liberty is a symbol of liberty and lighting the world. it is american liberty and lighting the world. the poem you are referring to was added later. it is not part of the original statue of liberty.

amy: that was stephen miller accosting jim acosta. we go to say at --seattle, where we are joined by congresswoman pramila jayapal. she became the first woman born in india to be elected to the house of representatives. she formerly served as executive director of oneamerica, a pro-immigration advocacy group. welcome to democracynow, pramila jayapal. can you start off by responding to this raise act. this is historic if it were to be passed. pramila jayapal: yes, but it is not a workable situation at all. and inhumane, but equally important it ignores the fact that what we need to do is a comprehensive overhaul of our system that allows for our economy to work and for our families to be together. this, by cutting immigration in half and by completely overturning all of the essential

components of immigration we have ever known to be true, which is we are a place of refuge, we are a place where people from all over the world come. this does not do anything to fix our broken legal immigration system. it just cuts the numbers in half. that is not a solution. i think this is immigrant baiting for a president that was not able to deliver on a major promise he made around health care and repealing the affordable care act. he was rebuffed by the american people and members of the democratic and republican party. is turned toone first transgender individuals in the military, and now to immigrants, and it is not a workable solution, and honestly i think it will be dead on arrival. you heard instagram, john mccain, others -- jeff flake, people who recognize that we need to do is update and modernize the system, not just cut the numbers in half. amy: so, this was already

introduced, wasn't it, by, among others, senator cotton? ms. jayapal: that is right. perdue and content did a big unveiling -- cotton did a big unveiling at the white house with president trump jumping on the bandwagon. we know immigrants have come to the united states for a multitude of reasons, and to somehow try to socially engineer the population that is here in the united states, that is what this bill feels like to me. it is incredibly hurtful to families who would not be able to bring their parents into the country. i would just tell you that i came here when i was 16 as an immigrant myself, and it took me almost 18 years to get my citizenship. i couldn't get my parents here because by the time i was actually able to sponsor them, they were quite old, and it would have taken another very long time. there is also this assertion through this proposal that somehow we have all of these people who are flooding in, they

are hurting our economy, and somehow we have to fix this so that it does not get abused -- so that the system does not get abused and manipulative. that is just not the reality. -- manipulated. that is not the reality. the reality is our economy needs immigrants. it would be a huge blow to the economy if we did something like this, and it would tear apart families, not allow children to be with their grandchildren. that is un-american. talk about stephen miller -- the senior advisor to president trump. you don't usually see him in front of the camera. but he had the argument with the son of an immigrant let come to this country from cuba not speaking english, who questioned poem atding, lazarus the base of the statue of liberty, give me your tired, your poor, your tired masses yearning to be free, challenging

stephen miller -- you are going to change this, you have to speak english to get into the country? what about refugees fleeing violence, he said. can you talk about the response from stephen miller saying the poem was added afterwards. added,, in 1903 it was what was that -- 114 years ago. ms. jayapal: i watched that in this -- in disbelief. there is stephen miller who is rejecting emma lazarus and the statue of liberty, and every thing it has met to be for the night at six. immigration has never really been about immigration -- the united states. immigration has never really been about immigration policy. ashas been about who we are a country and what we are willing to stand up for. he is actually wrong, by the way, in the sense that stephen

miller says everybody has to learn english in order to take the naturalization test. that is true, but it is not true that everybody who comes to the net states already knows how to speak english. certainly, for some, with refugees, you have a lot of refugees that come in, and all claims they have to learn a certain amount of english to take their test, but to imply that the only people who have merit in this merit-based system are people who speak english is just absolutely ludicrous, and i thought it was, you know, very important that jim acosta took on stephen miller on this question, because as i said earlier, i think this is a, sort of, social engineering. you have to speak english -- you have to have a certain set of skills. the reality is the u.s. economy depends on immigrant labor at every level, and republican and democratic economists have said are economy would collapse.

not only that, you think about the integration of families in this country -- we say we are a country of family values, yet we are going to cut off the ability for people here to bring their adult children or their parents into the country -- that is just against everything we have ever stood for. stephen miller might want to stand up there and say america doesn't stand for that anymore, but the reality is the american people don't feel that way. the majority of the american people believe immigration is good for our country because they see there is no way that our society what actually survive economically -- would actually survive economically or socially without immigrants to the country. amy: i want to go back to the exchange between jim acosta and stephen miller. was aosta: my father cuban immigrant who came in 1962 and obtained a green card. yes, people who immigrant to the country -- not through ellis island --

mr. miller: as a factual question -- jim acosta: they do obtain a green card, do it through hard work, and yes, obtain english later on in life, but the notion that they have to learn a list before they get to the united states, are we just going to bring in people from great britain and australia? mr. miller: i am shocked at your statement that you think that only people from great britain and australia would know english. it reveals your cosmopolitan bias to a shocking degree that in your mind -- note, this is an amazing moment -- that you think only people from great britain or australia would speak english is so insulting to millions of hard-working immigrants who do speak english from all over the world. jim, have you honestly never met an immigrant from another country who speaks english outside of great britain and australia? is that your personal

experience? jim: of course. mr. miller: that shows your cosmopolitan bias. jim: you are trying to engineer the flow of people into this country. mr. miller: that is one of the most outrageous and foolish things you have ever said, and for you, that is still -- the notion that you think this is a race this bill -- racist bill is so wrong and so insulting. amy: that is white house senior adviser stephen miller coming before the camera -- one of the few times he has -- though he was often the warm-up act for candidate donald trump when he was on the campaign trail -- speaking with jim acosta. wordted to ask about that cosmopolitan. -- it was written the way miller leaned into the world cosmopolitan has a long history

authoritarianism, especially anti-semitic advice. your response? ms. jayapal: i think it was. all of these are a signal in a minority base that delights in the idea of division, delights in the idea that somehow we should take all the brown and black people out of this country. there is a small minority base that donald trump has always played two. a stephen miller comes from that line of thinking. he has made many comments throughout his career along those lines, and i think these proposals are very much a part of the path forward. throughout this time, sometimes it will say when we are talking about immigration, we're not talking about those folks who come here legally -- we're talking about undocumented immigrants, or they will use other words to describe

undocumented immigrants, but this proposal really shows that what they have always wanted to do is cut immigration -- legal immigration to this country, even though it makes no economic sense. it is not what the american people want. the american people -- the majority of the american people want a fix to the immigration system so there is a lawful system for people to come in and out that makes sense, that is reasonable. that is the final, mice that was compromise2014 -- that was reached in 2014 when the u.s. senate voted for a bipartisan bill that would have legalized unauthorized immigrants and would have fixed the underlying system for legal immigration because we know it is broken. what stephen miller is trying to do is send a lot of signals to the base that, yes, we're going to take our immigrants, and we are going to make him the target of all of your anger, and we're not going to do anything to actually fix the problem. this is been the trunk's admin

-- trump's administration approach to a lot of things, and immigration seems to be the place they resort to every time they want to throw a bone to what i believe to be a small minority of the american people, but an important part of their base. amy: quickly i wanted to ask about this wall street journal piece yesterday that said kushner companies, the company owned by the white house senior adviser jared kushner, has been subpoenaed by u.s. federal prosecutors regarding its use of an investment for immigration program according to people familiar with the matter. you know the issue of using green cards, selling merritt-based green cards. yes, this is the hypocrisy of the imagination. forcompany continues to use

labor in ways that i think are skirting the law. they are not consistent with anything they say. they are attacking immigrants, but at the same time all of the trump hotels, all of the steel used was important -- the labor and goods were all imported from elsewhere. they are not being realistic -- they are not being honest, actually, with the american people, about the fact that they, too, rely on immigrant labor, and they often skirt the laws that exist. that visa program has had a lot of issues with misuse by corporations like the trump organization. so, if there are some reforms that are needed, it is in those programs that are being abused by corporations, not the legal immigration system that allows refugees to come here, parents to come here, and allow for a variety of skills within the immigrants that come to the united states. amy: i wanted to switch gears for a moment.

where you are right now, seattle, is in the midst of an unprecedented heatwave -- forecasters say captures could top 100 degrees today and friday, something that has happened just on three days over the last 100 years, compounding with smoke from wildfires. ironically, the smoke might keep temperatures from reaching triple digits. the heatwave raising alarm because only one in three seattle homes has air conditioning leaving seniors and other vulnerable at risk of dying from heat stroke. we are living in the era of trump -- president trump, a well-known climate change denier. what is happening in congress around this, and your response to what has to happen right now? ms. jayapal: well, i am very proud to have introduced along with three other congress members a bill that is called 100 by 50 -- how do we reach

100% renewable energy by 2050? it is a comprehensive bill to take on the issue oflimate change, but to do it in a way that represents -- recognizes the disproportionate burden that communities of color face. that is a response to the denial from the trump administration, including the head of the epa, scott pruitt, that somehow climate change is not real, and not caused by humans. this is an incredibly distressing abandonment of science, but also an abandonment of the nine states role in global leadership -- of the united states role in global leadership. we stepped away from the paris agreement, of course. that left a giant vacuum. china will step in. india and china are addressing climate change because they know it is real. if you want to talk about migration, one other thing we

have to mention is climate refugees are going to increase around the world. they already have. you see that continuing -- a lot of the small islands that are going to be in golf. people are going to die. people are going to need a place to go. this is about human beings and our ability to actually preserve the planet for the future, but also to make sure that we save people that are going to be underwater, literally, very soon. the republicans have been in denial. nobody is stepping up to challenge that the. they are on -- that view. it is all because of big money, amy. it always comes down to who is funding these campaigns and these republicans. if you look at what is happening, it is the big fossil fuel companies that are continuing to fund this denial of the reality of science. , i want toa jayapal thank you for being with us. democratic congress damaged --

representing washington's seventh district. this is democracy now. when we come back, more casualties in america's longest war -- the war in afghanistan. could president trump be considering extending the war to go after minerals in afghanistan? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "roman" by mashrou' leila. i am amy goodman. we turn now to afghanistan -- the longest war in u.s. history. on wednesday two u.s. soldiers died after a suicide car bomber rammed a nato-led convoy near a major u.s. military base in kandahar. the attack came a day after at least 33 worshippers died when

suicide bombers attacked a shiite mosque in the city of herat. the dead included the father of an afghan teenage girl who made international headlines recently when she took part in a robotics competition in the united states. the self-proclaimed islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack. meanwhile, the u.s. is intensifying its air war in afghanistan. during the month of june, the u.s. carried out 389 airstrikes -- the highest monthly total in five years. meanwhile the pentagon is , seeking to send another 4,000 u.s. troops to join the 8,700 currently in the country. as the wall street journal is reporting the top administration may have found a way to extend the u.s. war. the times reports -- meanwhile

the new york times recently reported that trump is being pressured by a billionaire financier and a chemical executive to escalate the u.s. war in afghanistan in a bid to exploit the country's mineral wealth. the times reports trump discussed afghanistan's vast deposits of metals and rare earth elements with afghan president ashraf ghani and is reportedly considering sending an envoy to afghanistan to meet with mining officials. we are joined now by two guests. kathy kelly is co-coordinator of voices for creative nonviolence, a campaign to end u.s. military and economic warfare. she has made many trips to afghanistan, including one earlier this year. jodi vittori is a senior policy advisor for global witness on afghanistan policy, joining us from washington, d.c.. kathy kelly, let's begin to you -- your response to what is happening in afghanistan right now. think they: to united states has been exacerbating a war that seems unlikely to change -- even if they had sent cents 4000 or many more troops to afghanistan -- when they had 100,000 troops, they were not able to substantially change the

direction that now has the afghan government in charge of 60% of the districts in afghanistan, and the taliban and other warlords in charge of 40% of the districts, and also commandeering many of the roadways that lead into major cities. amy: i wanted to turn to an interview, one bill o'reilly was still on fox news. it is an interview with president trump, who said the u.s. should have taken iraq's oil, even though he was supposed to the war. he said once they were in there, they should not have left until they took the oil following the invasion. mr. trump: iowa said take the oil -- there would be no isis. bill: if you took the iraqi oil, you would put in u.s. troops. mr. trump: you would have had assets, and to the victor belong the spoils, but forget that. amy: that might have been very

instructed -- instructive, jodi vittori. you are a former oteri soldier. -- military soldier. the new york times is reporting trump is being pressured by a billionaire financier and a executive to escalate the war in a bid to exploit afghanistan's mineral wealth. can you explain what you found? jodi vittori: sure. in the case of afghanistan, reports this morning that president trump is deeply troubled -- he acknowledges that the united states is not winning in afghanistan. he does not like the strategy his generals have given him from his national security staff, and for some reason he has leaned toward this vague plan put forward by the head of the private security company -- stephen feinberg, a major campaign could jupiter to the trump campaign -- that somehow the united states would come in,

-- they would send you in private security forces that would somehow help control these mining areas, including areas with the mineral lithium in it, which is important for cell phone batteries and so forth -- somehow extract that, security so other countries -- companies could extract that. it is unclear how they would take that money and repay thefor investigation of afghanistan. troubling on a conflict of interest level, ethics level, human rights, social level, and frankie, it is complete and practical as well. -- frankly, it is completely impractical as well. amy: kathy kelly, when you read this piece in the new york times about exploiting afghanistan for mineral wealth, and the comments from president trump, even though he was supposed to the we were therence to take their oil. your response.

kathy: it is repugnant for the night states to believe that we somehow should be able to subordinate the rights, hoax, possibilities of another country to serve our -- hoax, possibilities of another country to serve our natural resources. we have no right to take over natural resources in afghanistan and we have cost so much death and destruction, we should be paying reparations for that. amy: jodi vittori, could you be -- could you talk about the mineral industry, and who is benefiting in afghanistan in the midst of this longest war in u.s. history? jodi: certainly. it was estimated afghanistan helped to $1 trillion in minerals in reserve -- not all of that would be able to pull down economically, and that was at a time when mineral prices were at their high point. that estimate is not accurate now. afghanistan is awash in minerals. the geography is incredible when it comes to minerals and

possibly natural gas as well. those that are benefiting seem to be primarily groups like the taliban and groups like the various warlords and corrupt politicians in the country. what we don't see is the afghan people getting a benefit from this mining. there is a tremendous amount of mining in afghanistan. the german development agency ofimates that about 3% to 6% the population is involved in mining or its upstream or downstream activities. at the same time, a lot of that is really going into the hands of nefarious characters. estimated nations has that after narcotics trafficking, the second-largest source of revenue for the taliban is illegal mining in afghanistan. global witness has done a report on the role they play in the hands of legal and illegal armed groups, and the taliban itself. it is very troubling. amy: this is part one of our discussion. we will post the rest at democracynow.org. thank you for joining us from

global witness. global witness.

do you love italian food like i do but need to make a meal in a hurry? on today's show, i'll share 3 easy and totally tasty dishes inspired by the delicious cuisine of italy... ♪ easy italian with a fabulous sauce inspired by my mom... ♪ pasta sauce a 15-minute pizza pie... ♪ pizza pie and my jazzy-licious quick twist on a classic eggplant dish. ♪ eggplant dish i'll share my easy italian dishes. then we'll visit with the great lidia bastianich to hear about classic italian vegetables. rosa di gorizia. this is a little rose from gorizia. look at this. it looks like a rose. laura: it does. yeah. yeah. gorizia, again, is another town in friuli venezia giulia. so these are all the towns where we really have a tradition of chicory salads. so stay tuned. ♪ jazzy, you're gonna be healthy ♪