01/17/18 01/17/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> our humanity is not dependent on a piece of paper. documented, undocumented. we. amy: that is the voice of ravi ragbir. last week, he was detained by florida, nown faces deportation. just a week earlier, another leader of the sanctuary movement, jean montrevil, was detained, deported haiti on tuesday. today we look at how the trump administration targeting leaders of the immigrants rights movement, from new york to

seattle, washington, were a prominent activist maru mora-villalpando has also announced she faces possible deportation. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. "the new york times" reports the pentagon is proposing widening the permitable use of nuclear weapons to include responding to cyber attacks and other non-nuclear attacks to u.s. infrastructure. the pentagon has already outlined this expanded nuclear strategy in a draft document sent to president trump for approval. it comes amid a series of moves by the pentagon and president trump that have escalated the threat of nuclear war. "the wall street journal" reports the pentagon is planning to develop two new sea-based nuclear weapons. "the new york times" also reports the pentagon is conducting a series of war games to prepare for a potential war

with north korea. this is secretary of state rex tillerson warning americans about the escalating threat of war with north korea on tuesday. >> with respect to whether americans should be concerned about a war with north korea, i think we all need to be very sober and clear eyed about the current situation as north korea has continued to make significant advances in both its nuclear weapons, as demonstrated by their last thermonuclear test, as well as the continued progress they have made in their intercontinental ballistic missile systems -- we have to recognize that that threat is growing. and if north korea does not choose the pathway of engagement , discussion, negotiation, then they themselves will trigger an option. amy: on capitol hill, the

government is again facing the looming possibility of a shutdown as lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement about immigration protections for 800,000 young undocumented immigrants known as dreamers. on tuesday night, republicans proposed yet another short-term funding stopgap in order to keep the government funded without resolving key legislative issues, including immigration and a children's health care program called chip. the legislative showdown comes -- a number of senators say they , thea resolution on daca deferred action for childhood arrivals. trump's justice department said it would ask the supreme court to immediately review a federal judge's recent decision forcing the trump administration to restart the program, which trump attempted to cancel last year. in more news on immigration, on capitol hill, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen was questioned tuesday by the senate judiciary committee, during which she denied that she heard

president trump refer to haiti, el salvador, and african countries as "s-hole countries." this is democratic senator cory booker. >> the commander-in-chief in an all office meeting referring to people from african countries and haitians with the most vile and bulger language, language festers when ignorance and bigotry is alive with power, it is a dangerous force in our country. silence and your amnesia is complicity. amy: during the hearing, on the security secretary nielsen also attempted to defend trump's racist comments that he wants more immigrants from countries like norway. this is democratic senator patrick leahy of vermont. >> what does he mean when he says he wants more immigrants from norway? said that believe he

specifically. what he was saying as he was using norway as an example of a what he was specifically referring to is the prime minister telling him that the people of norway work very hard. so what was referencing is from the merit-based perspective, we would like to have those with skills who can simile and contribute to the united states, moving with from country quotas and two in an individual merit-based system. norway is predominately white country, isn't it? >> i actually do not know that, sir, but i imagine that is the case. amy: norway is overnight a percent white, one of the whitest in the world. "the new york times" reports special counsel robert mueller has subpoenaed president trump's former chief strategist steven bannon to testify before a grand jury as part of the ongoing investigation into whether the trump campaign colluded with russia to sway the 2016 election. "the times" reports this is the first known time mueller's team has used a grand jury subpoena for a member of trump's inner circle.

on tuesday, bannon was also subpoenaed by the house intelligence committee after he refused to answer a wide range of the committee's questioning during a hearing tuesday. even after the subpoena was issued, bannon continued to refuse to answer questions. his lawyers been confirmed with the white house. this is democratic congress person adam schiff, the highest-ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee. >> there is, i think without a doubt, a great deal he could say with respect to many of the allegations in the comments that treated to him and the book "fire and fury." we have a great many questions, but specifically, any communications he had within the white house at the time the trump tower meeting was made public. honestly, that is of deep interest to us. whether he was it ever given instructions he felt might and are the russia investigation would be of interest to us. amy: white house doctor ronny jackson said tuesday president trump is in good health and

displayed a normal score on a cognitive exam, amid mounting questions about president trump's mental health. this is dr. jackson. >> i had absolutely no concerns about his cognitive ability or function.ogical so i was not going to do a cognitive exam. the reason that we did the assessment is plain and simple, because the president asked me to do it. he said, is there something we can do, a test or some type of screen we can do to assess my cognitive ability? amy: however, the mental health experts say the short, 15-minute cognitive screening test administered is not comprehensive, and many are still calling for a full neuropsychiatric evaluation. the senate moved tuesday to extend the national security agency's warrantless surveillance program for another six years. the senate voted 60 to 38 to overcome a procedural delay, despite calls by a group of lawmakers who first wanted to vote on a series of amendments that would have imposed more privacy protections. the law known as section 702 allows the u.s. government to

collect communications, including emails, phone calls fromext messages foreigners, including their communications with u.s. citizens. it can collect all this information without a warrant. the trump administration is withholding $65 million of funding for the u.n. humanitarian agency for palestinians, known as the u.n. relief and works agency. u.n. officials say the slashed funding will devastate its humanitarian programs. this comes as the israeli military attacked a funeral procession in the west bank, opening fire on the mourners during clashes after the funeral. the funeral was for 24-year-old ahmad salim, who was killed by israeli troops on monday. the united nations says at least 5000 children in yemen have been killed or maimed since march when the u.s.-backed saudi-led 2015 coalition intervened in the ongoing conflict, launching a massive bombing campaign and imposing a blockade that has created a widespread shortage of food, water, and medicine in yemen. the unicef report says another

400,000 children in yemen are severely malnourished. the united states has supported saudi arabia in the ongoing war in yemen by selling the saudis billions of dollars' worth of weapons, and providing logistical military support, including critical mid-air refueling to saudi coalition warplanes. the justice department says it has arrested a former cia agent who is suspected of working with china to systematically dismantle the u.s. spying operations there. the former officer. more than a dozen cia agents have been killed or imprisoned by the chinese government. in more news on china, pro-democracy activist joshua wong has been sentenced to three months in prison for organizing the 2014 umbrella movement protests in hong kong. this is joshua wong speaking before his sentencing wednesday. dowhat we hope to

[indiscernible] amy: in the philippines, journalists and press freedom advocates are condemning duterte's government for trying to shut down the highly popular independent news outlet rappler. on monday, the securities and exchange commission revoked rappler's license to operate on charges that the website is foreign-owned, even though the website is owned by filipinos. this morning, the philippines justice department authorized the opening of a criminal investigation into the website. rappler and press freedom advocates say the website has been targeted for its critical reporting on rodrigo duterte's administration and his devastating so-called drug war. back in the united states, the majority of the national park system advisory board have resigned in protest of the fact that interior secretary ryan zinke has not met with them even once since trump took office one year ago. the board's chairman, tony knowles, a former governor of alaska, said -- "the department showed no

interest in learning about or continuing to use the forward-thinking agenda of science when it comes to the effect of climate change, protection of the ecosystems, education." he was one of nine members of the 12-person panel who quit on monday. in california, a los angeles county sheriff's deputy has been arrested by fbi agents and charged with running a drug trafficking scheme, which included allegedly hiring other police officers to provide physical security for drug dealers. deputy kenneth collins and three other men were arrested in the tuesday morning sting. in wisconsin, democrats have won a major victory in the state senate race, flipping a rural district that has been controlled by republicans for almost 20 years. democrat patty shatner defeated -- schachtner defeated state representative adam jarchow in a special election to replace a -- at least nine points. .he pope has apologized

he said he was pained and ashamed by the abuse. and in michigan, female gymnasts who survive sexual assaults and abuse by former usa gymnastics team doctor larry nassar testified against him on the first day of his sentencing tuesday. nassar has already admitted to sexually abusing the athletes when they were children and adolescents and then covering up the abuse by pretending it was part of a medical treatment. nearly 140 women have come forward to accuse nassar of abuse, including exposing himself in front of them, rubbing his genitals against their bodies, and penetrating their vaginas with his fingers. among his accusers are all of the gymnasts including the gold medalist simone biles. the first woman to testify at tuesday's hearing was kyle stephens, who said nassar began abusing her when she was only six years old. another woman who testified at tuesday's hearing was donna markham, the mother of former

gymnast chelsea markham, who was sexually abused by nassar when she was only 10 years old. chelsea went on to commit suicide in 2009. , she took her own life because she could not deal with the pain anymore. it will be 10 years in march that i lost my baby. she was 23 years old. she would have been 33 now. and every day i miss her. every day. and it all started with him. it all started with him and just became worse as the years whereby until she could not deal with it anymore. amy: larry nassar faces decades in prison on charges of sexually assaulting and abusing minors. he has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted on child pornography charges in a separate case.

and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. on martin luther king day here in new york gathered to oppose , hundreds the detention of local activist ravi ragbir. he was to tame last week when he went to his check-in with immigration and customs enforcement, or ice. ragbir is executive director of the new sanctuary coalition of new york city. he helped pioneer the accompaniment program for thousands of others who face similar check-ins. this attention sparked a peaceful protest that was met with police violence. police arrested 18 people , including members of the new york city council. legally moved here 20 years ago. conviction made his green card subject to review.

the government refused to normalize his status. just a week prior jean , montrevil, another leader with the new sanctuary coalition of new york city, was detained outside his home. he was deported to haiti on tuesday. well, on monday, hundreds circled washington square park in a jericho walk and then gathered at judson memorial church to show support for ravi and jean. speakers included rhiya trivedi, and member of ravi ragbir's defense committee. >> it was my great privilege to accompany amy to see ravi kant to update him on all you have been doing and to hear his jokes about how he has never moved through the gsa as quickly as when he was accompanied by eight ice agents. today it is my great privilege to share this message, this letter from immigration jail. "i am doing ok.

it was a wild and crazy ride. every moment was uncertain except the certainty that they wanted me gone. i am still here because of all of you. thank you. i miss everyone. i feel very heartbroken to see how many of you are suffering for me, how many people were abused during this process. i feel heartbroken that care for someone evoke's violence. . want everyone to stand strong at this moment, we need to speak about changing the system so that no one has to face this type of harm. not just for me, but for all of the families who face being torn apart. until we get reform, we need to repeal the act that criminalizes immigrants, that makes us less

than human because of a document . i call upon immigrants, if you need help, reach out to the new sanctuary coalition and they will fight for you as they do for me. and i call upon citizens to answer the call for immigrants, who are afraid and need help standing up, please, a company them at every step. i know that i will see you all very soon." amy: that is a member of ravi ragbir's defense committee speaking monday in new york. she was reading his letter. new york city council member umanne williams also spoke. claims was arrested along with 17 others as they and others attempted to block an ambulance being used to transport ravi ragbir to detention last week.

>> i want to say to those who question myself and council member rodriguez and others who were arrested with us, who question why we were in the streets, who question why we were blocking a van with people in it. if you come out of a building with no lights and no sirens, you are a van with passengers. if you are questioning what we were doing their on martin luther king day, please, shut your mouth. name comethat man's out of your lips a future question why we were in the street. we are in the streets because we follow the best tradition of the reverend dr. martin luther king and so many like him. there are people who want to sanitize who dr. king was, who want to sanitize his message. but let us be clear, he was an agitator. he was a disruptor. he wanted to disrupt the norm.

do not confuse nonviolence with being docile. we are going to disrupt and shut down whatever we need to do until we make people understand we are fighting to uproot the same system that dr. king was. and i say uproot because i always want to make it clear how the system is working it was designed to work. the people who are on the bottom are supposed to be there. we don't need to change the system, we need to uproot it and replace it. we in this room are in the best tradition of thisi get upset whe saying what is happening now is not what america is, donald trump and his cronies are not who america are. america was founded on those values. we need to be clear about that. that is a tradition of america. but i thank the lord that i serve that there are people in this room who pushed back from

the beginning of this country and we are the ones who are in the street fighting for ravi ragbir, the once mistry fighting for jean, the ones fighting for the people who are called " other" in any country. i stand here probably because in with those folks, it was a proud, proud day. it was the closest i felt to what must have happened when people were fighting decades ago. nobody here was there. nobody can say they are those people that was celebrate. but the feeling of fear that i had an understanding that the morality of what was going on dictated that i continue to move forward within that fare. i'm here to tell folks, some people say, don't be afraid, don't be fearful.

god.is not a spirit of but i'm here to tell you, while that is true, i am human and so are you, so fear is a human emotion. but we need the courage god has given us to move forward in that fear. and i feel the courage in this room to make sure we move forward, to make sure we get justice. amy: new york city councilman jumaane williams, among 18 people arrested after ravi ragbir was detained. williams has also announced his intention to explore the possibility of running for lieutenant governor here in new york. when we come back, we will be joined by the relatives of both and ravi ragbir. we will speak with jean montrevil. ♪ [music break]

amy: "it's my brown skin" singing life and our democracy now! studios.

he begins his national tour today. to see his full performance and interview, go to democracynow.org. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. look more in-depth of the cases of ravi ragbir and jean montrevil, two liters targeted by the trump administration. on tuesday, yesterday, jean haitivil was deported to after residing in the united states for over three decades. he came to the u.s. from haiti with a green card in 1986 at the age of 17. during the height of the crack epidemic, he was convicted of possession of cocaine and sentenced to 11 years in prison. he served that time. upon his release, he married a u.s. citizen, had four children, became a successful small businessman, as well as an immigrant rights activist. he has had no further interaction with the criminal justice system. meanwhile, another immigrant rights leader here in new york, ravi ragbir, is also facing deportation. he was detained last thursday when he went to his check-in

with ice. his detention sparked a peaceful protest that was met with police violence. police arrested 18 people, including members of the new york city council. ravi ragbir's executive director of the new century coalition of new york city. he is now being held in florida and faces deportation. joining us from haiti is jean montrevil, deported to haiti on tuesday. we welcome you to democracy now! are you in port-au-prince? can you talk about what has happened to you since you were arrested and then detained and deported? >> thank you for having me on your program again. yes, i just woke up in haiti after 32 years. changed so much since i left.

i was deported on tuesday without any notification from a lawyer. they just deport me. my kids were still in court. it seemed like something will organize between ice and the bia. now deport me to haiti and -- it was very tough. two days of hell. andtarted monday at 7:00 tuesday i got out at 12:30. .t was very hard it was very hard travel. it was very hard. imagine standing up for two days straight with no food and shackled up with no explanation. now i am in haiti. amy: can you talk about your core choke children here in the united states and talk about

what you wanted to stay here -- can you talk about your four children here in the united date and talk about what you wanted to stay here? >> they are my life. i live for them. now they have to suffer the consequences, the bad choice i made years ago. kids are very good kids. they are good kids. it is hard on me. i am still in shock, you know? just being away from them now. they have a good mother. she is a very good woman. keepill do her best to things running. amy: she is with us right now.

we are joined by jani cauthen, the former wife of jean montrevil, the mother of three of jean's four children. your thoughts as you listen to you havelonger here -- fun so hard for him to stay here. >> i thoughts is, this system is released grid up. they separate families. to target a leader, what they did not know, i did all of the research when he was first detained in 2005 and i will continue to advocate for his right and for other immigrants. the way they orchestrated his deportation was well-planned. scott mac was of 26 federal plaza and thomas dekker were interfering with his decision on the bia case. the even went as far to put the system where you can check the status of the case. friday and try to check to see if it was a decision on his case and the system state it was down until monday, which is martin

luther king day, which is kind of funny because martin luther king day is a legal holiday. so on monday before i went to the mlk situation going on at my church just a memorial, i call the hotline. to my surprise, his case was denied. they made sure they did it that way so his lawyer would not build a get a day because it was y because it was a holiday. other lawyer was able to put in appeal. are deported even though you have a legal pending appeal in the united states? >> yes. yes. bia did not make a decision yet. -- make thaty decision. [indiscernible]

it was a well-planned deportation. why i was targeted, i've no idea. all i have done is taking care of my kids, going to work, and take care of my business. i have been over 17 years. my one time -- you know? kids need me and i need them. now they have to pay the price for something that i did 32 years ago. unbelievable. broken. is i have no words. i am heartbroken now. amy: jean, can you describe how you were arrested? ice came to your house? >> yes. i was running late for work.

for nyu hospital doing shuttle service. i was supposed to be there at 2:00 will stop on my way to work, i heard somebody call my name walking down the street. officers.r ice [indiscernible] they had no paperwork, nothing. they handcuffed me and put me in ok meack of the car and to to 26 plaza. climbing climb into miami. at that moment i knew -- want to go to miami processing, the next step is haiti. do you feel you have been targeted because of your

activism around the new sanctuary coalition with ravi ragbir? do you feel this is why they are -- they have deported you? >> definitely. definitely. years, i've never violated. i always make my appointment. i stay out of trouble. i work and take care of my kids. i pay taxes every year. i did everything they asked me to do. so why target me now? it has to be -- amy: are you sorry that you engaged in that kind of activism? did it ever hold you back thinking, if i just be quiet, lay low, they won't deport me or arrest me? in 2010, i met with the director of ice. quiet,ask me to be

something along that line. blah.own or blah, blah, i did slow down. what ice wasut doing until we started that move. i am happy to be part of it. you know, but -- amy: jean montrevil come is it true ice said they would not arrest you in this way, out on the street, just take you? >> yes. until last week, they said they were going to let me stay until i finished in the core system. i am still in court now. why am i in haiti? they lied. they lied. all they give you is lies, lies,

lies. just to be tortured. amy: what has this meant -- let me ask jani what this has meant hasyour children as jean been sent to haiti after over three decades in the united states. >> i'm going to speak about the good part first. he son was very shy and mini put the petition out on change.org. he generated over 10,000 signatures within the first several days posted, trying to get people to support his dad's release. he goes to brooklyn tech high school, one of the top schools in the world. he started reaching out to his principal and assistant principal. one of his friends mom's works for a new station and she reached out to me. she wanted to do his story. for my daughter, she a sophomore mercy college. amy: she was on our show with jean in the studio. >> she reached out to fellow

students and faculty to support her death. my daughter said, mommy, they gave a shout out on the mic yesterday because of my strength. a lot of kids don't all about immigration, so i had to tell them. as far as the negative part, i try to keep them positive because they are in school. they are sad and missing their dad, but i told them all of you guys have passports and you will be with your dad. you cannot allow a broken system to destroy you. one day we will all be free. america was created on slavery. slavery was a law. the same way a law made them put him in deportation proceedings. as if you think about him and the, they got convicted in 1980's. the law changed in the 1990's. why doesn't the law change for them? it is obvious it is racism. amy: you mentioned ravi come and i want to turn to ravi ragbir in

his own words. he recorded this message on january 10, the day before he was detained. why have i not taken sanctuary? that was not an option. thereason why is because were so many of you who have stood up for me, so many of you who have come out around me. i hope that you will be more motivated to stop this. youi hope and i pray that will step out of your comfort create a network of safety, not just in the houses of worship, not just in the space where we call sensitive zone, but create a network of safety around you, around the community because you refuse to let this agency -- you are

refusing to let them come into your community and destroy it and take away those families only because they don't have one piece of paper. our humanity is not dependent on a piece of paper. coexecutivegbir director of the new sanctuary coalition of new york city, speaking last week, just a day before he was detained. his detention sparked a peaceful protest that was met with police violence. police arrested 18 people, including members of the new york city council. he is now being held in florida, facing deportation. illegally immigrated to the u.s. from trinidad more than a quarter of a century ago, but a 2001 why are fraud conviction made his green card subject to review. even though he is married to u.s. citizen and has he was born daughter, the government refused to normalize his status. joining us now is amy gottlieb, ravi ragbir's wife.

talk about what is happening with ravi right now. we are speaking to jean, just deported to haiti. ra that is wherevi ravi is right now? >> that's right. amy: a news reporter on tuesday during the hearing for ravi ragbir said "today an assistant u.s. attorney said he did not know why ice detained them when they did. he was detained to affect removal. what we don't know is why they did it now. can you explain? >> so we had a hearing yesterday to try -- i'm in, our ultimate role is to get him released, but we were trying to get him at least right back to the new york area so he cannot act is to counsel, access to his family, act as to his community.

there was a back-and-forth kind of complicated legal hearing yesterday. the judge was really saying, why on january 11 did you detained ravi? he had a stay of deportation, under an order of supervision and had fully complied. he had not turned away. he had not tried to hide. he was 100% in compliance with that order of supervision. even the judge was saying, what was it on january 11? was valid stay that until january 19. so why revoke it at that moment? they did not answer. what we have to assume at this point is after jean was picked up, they've made a conscious decision and probably higher peoplethan ice to target who are really willing to come out and say this system is during a part families and needs to be fixed.

amy: what about the fact he has been moved to florida? is there a chance you will get him back here? >> we are hopeful. we have a stay of deportation in place. the judge initially ordered he be detained locally, and the jurisdiction of new york ice. we're hopeful we will get a positive decision on that from the judge today or tomorrow. amy: can you explain what has taken place? we have had jean and ravi on democracy now! the lastollowedravi time he had a check in. explain what happened this time just as je describedan ring taken on the street, do they come to your house? >> no. we have had conversations with it previous to this, hoping would grant a stay so we did not have to go in. they refuse to do that. up until i think wednesday before the check in, ice was telling us they had not made a decision on his case.

they did not know whether they were going to ask didn't his case or not. we decided, we're going to go in surrounded by family and community. there was a jericho walk outside. there was a show of support. ice knew everyone was watching. it was a little surprising because we were asked to go to a different office inside ice, not the regular reporting office. we let ourselves believe that was an ok thing, that they just did not want chaos or a lot of people on the regular check-in room. but instead, the minute we walked in, the ice officer allowed his lawyer in me to go in with ravi. the minute we sat down, he basically said, "this is it, the end of the road. we're not owing to allow ravi to stay. there's nothing more you can do. this is it. we are taking into custody. he is in custody now." , i mean, ient, ravi panicked, of course. ravi just sort of looked at me

and said, i think i'm going to pass out. he fainted. his eyes rolled into the back of his house. ice officers were just turned. ravi came to relatively quickly and they call for medical attention, which they have to do. so it was at that point that i plans had to change olympic because they did not anticipate having to take them out in an ambulance. they did allow me to go in the ambulance with him. he was handcuffed and shackled. as we were taken to the ambulance, we were able to see the surge of protest, the surge of love that had just this early started as people heard that ravi was detained. we were prepared to let people know immediately. we had a structure set up so if ravi was going to be detained, we would say the word and everybody knew.

we felt the love. they took us to the hospital. as i got out of the a militants -- ambulance, the next thing i knew they throw ravi away. they did not bring him to that hospital. somewhere around 10:30 in the morning, i had no idea where he was until we learned maybe 9:30 that night after his lawyer made tons of phone calls to find out he was taken to miami. amy: talk about the effect on your family and the affect on you right now, what this has meant as you deal with this and you have been dealing with this not just at this point, the fear of him being detained at the previous check-in and the toll it has taken. >> it is devastating. we have been living with this weight on our shoulders, with this fear this could happen. but, honestly, i still believe in the system. i still believe that community support and the outpouring of love that we felt is going to make a difference in this.

anone level, going home to empty house it nice, seeing his things and feeling his presence everywhere in our home, i cry myself to sleep. i am torn apart. i have an amazing, amazing support network of friends and family who are caring for me, being there for me, bringing the food and making sure i am ok, constantly. but then there's also this piece of me that is just devastated that this is how our government treats people. as an immigrant activists for more than 20 years, i have known this at struck lee and seeing family suffer, fought against the system of immigration, but to see my husband snatched away -- i asknd disappeared you had no idea where he was. i heard from him friday morning -- amy: and you're a lawyer. >> yes. but that my system disappeared ad ice not communicating with

lawyer or me to tell us where he is, on friday they took him in a van outside the kitchen center and he did not know where he was going. when i finally went down to see him, fly to miami to see my husband, i get a one-hour visit through plexiglass. impactxtraordinary the that it has on a person, on relationships. and i am still sort of just barely walking through this. amy: i want to turn to part of the interview we did with ravi ragbir last year. we will go to that clip in a minute. let's go to that. >> i need to be always aware that even though i may have

support, i have to think about also i don't have support. i always have to be ready to think about the consequences of a policy change on someone who does not have that support. but what you saw yesterday is modelimmigrants -- role -- speaking up. to elected and speak officials an advocate for themselves. and go, even though something may be wrong, they go to this process because it will be good for them because they're ready for every step of the way. i do not want to be a role model, but i have been told i am. amy: that is ravi ragbir in our studio last year with his wife amy gottlieb, who is also an immigrants rights attorney. do you think he and jean have been targeted? why now? why have the been taken after both have been in this country for well over, well, a quarter

of a century and more than 30 years? >> the film conclusion we can draw, they have been targeted. we are heard about people being targeted around the country now and it is mystifying why suddenly --ravi still has a legal case. nothing is changed in his case since march. we are still in the same legal posture. he is a case pending in their home in case is going to take away the grounds of deportability. there is no doubt both ravi and jean have really been speaking out, educating communities, leading in a company met programs of people -- accompaniment program. amy: i would return to interview i did this weekend in colorado in carbondale with sandra lopez, who has taken sanctuary in colorado. she is a mexican mother of three u.s. citizen children. she has taken centuries to avoid being deported to mexico. last weekend, ice went to the

physical parsonage in carbondale -- physical parsonage in carbondale. i asked her about the news that ice agents had just arrested the husband of another woman who had taken sanctuary, ingrid, colorado immigrant rights leader who sought sanctuary to avoid her deportation. ingrid's husband was arrested thursday, the same day ravi ragbir was detained here in new york city. this is sandra lopez. being a leader is not easy. i want to -- they want to try to separate as to prevent us from working together. we talk a lot. i am extremely angry about what happened to ingrid's husband. it has affected me as a mother. thinking about myself as a wife. i see this as an attack on sanctuary.

i want ingrid to know she is not alone. we are here. we are angry and we're supporting her. tore are doing this to try weaken us. they want to frighten and divide us, but we need to be a stooge. we need to be organized. we need to leave behind the fear and the shadows and continue to raise our voices. there is a quote that "divided we fall," we are going to stay strong and continue defending our dignity and offending section worry. amy: that is central lopez in carbondale, there with her two-year-old for three months. she is saying "i want ingrid, another woman who has taken sanctuary, to know she is not alone." ingrid's husband was surrounded by ice agents and taken on the same day that ravi ragbir here in new york was taken. i want to get a final, from both of you before we go to seattle to speak with maru mora-villalpando, who we have

spoken to numerous times, a well-known immigrants rights leader who herself is now fearful that she is going into deportation hearings. your final comments, amy? >> we need to continue fighting>>. what we're seen since ravi and taken, the community support is coming out and it is making people stronger, more united. we are coming together and we are avoid a fight says. this attempt ice by to knock us down, to put as a way, is not going to be successful. we're going to continue moving andarud we have jani m and attentive pupil. amy: jean montrevil, i'm wondering in this final moment we have with you, if you could comment on the reports that president trump talked about haiti, as he did african

countries in el salvador, as, well, i won't say the word that he used, as s-hole countries. -hole countries. do you think that as of the to do with why you are back in haiti today? his attitude toward haiti, which reportedly said in "new york times" weeks ago, talked about everyone in haiti having aids and not wanting people from your country in hours. amy, when i got here, the officials of haiti -- that was the first statement, what trump said about haiti [indiscernible] it did not get a good reception from the haitian government. they are upset. coming from an official of haiti.

they did not like that. janilet me end with cauthen, after the president reportedly called the country ,here jean was born s-hole talking about not wanting evil from haiti and the units it's ean hast this time that j been deported. >> number 45 is ignorant. every time he opens his malcolm everything obama did, he tried to undo. he is in the front page of the daily news today. his alleged mistress, a poor and star, came out. she said she try to come out a couple of years ago that "the times" refuse to share his story. his wife can never compare to michelle obama. michelle obama was -- if she was caught in bed with another woman, she would be impeached immediately. number 45 has a lot to do with

the situation. hopefully one day he will be impeached. amy: we will leave it there, jani cauthen, the former wife of jean montrevil, the mother of three of jean's four children. jean montrevil joining us directly from haiti where he has been deported to just yesterday. and amy gottlieb, the wife of ravi ragbir, who's now in detention in florida in deportation proceedings, and they're trying to get him back to new york to have him released to where he has lived for well over two decades. this is democracy now! when we come back, we go to seattle, washington, district another well-known immigrants rights activist who herself faces detention and deportation. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show with undocumented activist maru mora-villalpando. immigrations and customs enforcement have placed her in deportation proceedings, in a move she calls retaliation for her political activism. maru is a nationally known immigrant rights activist who leads the organization, northwest detention center resistance. she has engaged in multiple acts of civil disobedience to protest deportations and immigrant detentions.

she says only days before christmas, she received a notice to appear. we go now to seattle to talk with maru mora-villalpando. welcome back to democracy now! what message did you get from ice? >> good morning, amy. i received a certified mail letter to my house, which is called notice to appear. it had my name and the fact that i overstate a visa. my last entrance in 1996 to the united states. it said they are beginning deportation proceedings against me. the initial part of the letter for adoesn't have a date hearing. but just the fact i got it to my house, i don't have any bills to my name. i never had any interactions with ice that would be to my deportation proceedings. and every had any interactions with police that involve ice. altogether, it is very strange.

amy: why do you think this is happening now? iswe have been saying this the and of the obama era. we haven't deportation machine that has grown incredibly big. when he was leaving, he yeah the opportunity to stop it but instead gave the keys to the fascist regime. for us, it is clear that although their actions against immigrants starting with their campaign actually hitting mexicans has -- hating mexico hating mexicans has grown. is sending us a message to stop our political activity. when i saw the letter, i'm eagerly new what it was. -- i immediately knew what it was. i thought, they are sending me a message to stop and i will top. amy: talk about how you came out as undocumented in 2014, what

happened, and how you feel this connects to then. that was during the obama admini back in february 2014, we were in tacoma, washington, to bring attention to these horrible detention centers. too many around the nation. it was part of the campaign that was precisely having people, undocumented people, bringing attention. and also putting ourselves on systeme saying if the doesn't stop, we will stop it. it is clearly a connection that the system does not want us to continue fighting and they're doing everything they can to stop us. as alieve ice was created specific intention. it is not only to deport people, but to destroy people. they destroyed our families. now it is coming. we'll to be part of the police regime. we think ice is nothing but political oppression apparatus.

amy: we have had you on and your daughter on. what are your plans now? we're going to continue fighting, my daughter and i. she was with me when i received the letter. she actually opened it. she was really angry. she said "i can't believe there around.le they don't want understand this is happening, how this is becoming a nightmare." we decided we are not going to hide. we're not going to be afraid. that is what ice wants us to do. instead, we're going to fight back. amy: do you have a time you have to "check in"? >> we have not received anything. my lawyer requested a form that to the to send immigration courts and why they want me to go to a court hearing deportingi am in proceedings. as of now, when i called the

system on the phone, they're stuffing about my case. there is still hearing date yet. amy: finally, i mean, you have lived in this country, again, for over quarter of a century. do you sit connection between yours and the two we just looked at jean montrevil,, who is just been reported to haiti yesterday and ravi ragbir who is in deportation proceedings in new florida? .> absolutely not only questioned the system, but fighting the system. we are public about it will stop we are not afraid. it is clear they're going after us right now. they will go after many others, not only undocumented, but documented and even possibly your citizens. the department of justice and they're going to review along with homeland security 150,000 records of u.s. citizens naturalized, thinking they're going to revoke some of those citizenships.

amy: maru mora-villalpando, thank you for being

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