captioningored by wnet >> stewart: on this edition for saturday, october 19: another setback for a brexit deal; in our signature segment, the first in a two-part series on ice detention in louisna; and writer john hodgman's take on losing status. next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the cheryl and philip milstein fami. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter, in memory of george o'neil.

barbarhope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america, designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're you retirement company. additional support has bee provided by: and by t corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the americaneople. yo and by contributions t pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new yo, alison stewart. >> stewart: good evening. thanks for joinings. will they stay or will they go? the fate of brexit, britain's long-running plan to exit the european union, remains unknown today. an extraordinary saturday session of parliament ended with a vote that delays a decision oi primster boris johnson's recently-negotiated agreement with the e.u.

>> stewart: johnson presented divided house of commons today, hoping for an end to years of debate. >> and now is the time for this great house of commons to come together and bring the country together today. >> hear, hear! >> stewart: leaders of the labour and scottish national parties calledhe deal even worse than one johnson's predecesr, theresa may, tried and failed to negotiate. >> mr. speakeri also totally understand the frustration and the fatigue across the country and in this house, but we simply cannot vote for a deal that is even worse than the one the house rejected three times. >> this tory government has sold scotland out, and once again they have let scotland down! >> stewart: in the end, there was no vote on the overall brexit deal, only a vote to pass an amendment that is supposed to slow down the process.ts

oue parliament, hundreds of thousands of protesters filled the streets, many of them calling for a second national referendum on brexit and a chance to keep britain in the eurpoean union. >> we need to have another say. n need to say what's on our minds, so many people have changed their minds. this is britain today, this is the u.k. today. we need to be asked again, "isea thisy what you want?" >> stewart: joining me now is r. correspondent frank langfitt, also author of thela recent book "the shanghai free taxi." he joins me now from london. what exactly did parliament vote on this morning? prime minister, wanted them to vote on his brexit withdrawal country out, idealfrom histhe persctive and from the deadline, at the end of this month. but instead, lawmakers in the parliament had a different idea. they're concerned that they can't get althe legislation finished in time, and they were afraid that the united kingdom could invert... inadveently crash out of the e.u. with no deal at all, causing a lot of economic damage. so, at they said is, they've passed an amendment saying, "we're... we will approve this

only once all the legin has gotten done." so, this has actually delayed the vote. >> stewart: who was responsible for setting up, for orchestrating the possibility of a delay? lawmakers who were veryber of concerned about crashing out of the e.u.al an, i've got to be honest, there's a lot of distrust of boris johnson. you remember, last month, he suspended parliament here, but the supreme court of the united kingdom slapped him do, said, "you broke the law." and so, there was concern that either through accident or perhaps deliberately, some brexiteers might try to foil things, basically mess up the legislation so that the country crashed out. so, people, even people who wano ote for this deal, were... were very worried, and so they... they backed thedm amt compelling him to ask for a... an extension from brussels.te >>rt: what must boris johnson do legally now?>> egally, he is supposed to write a letter tonight to brussels asking for an extension. he says he won't do it.s he just refu. and the reason is that, all rather die in a ditch than go

back to brussels and promise to get the country out because, of course, it's been almost three and a half years since the 2016 brexit vote. and , he's adamant he won't it. >> stewart: what are the true sticking point >> the true sticking point i think here really is... is the and the fact that imetablehnson is so tight. this is one of the biggest desions made by the u.k. b government in many decades, and they don't want to make a mistake, and they don't want to miss something >> stewart: well, "the hill" is reporting that the u.s. chamber of commerce is calling for the deadline for brexit to be extended, which leads me to wonder what's been the economic impact of alof these delays? >> i was on a train recently up to manchesr, and i met two people who work in... they're head hunters in the city of london, the financial district. they voted to remain in the e.u. they said that right now, they can't get any business de. people can't make a decision because there's been so much uncertainty. and, in fact, they would actually back boris johnson's deal. sides.ey actually were switching so, from a business perspective,

i think that this uncertainty has cost a lot. >> stewart: what do average people think, at this point? >> they're exhausted. neat you hear a lot from people is, "get brexit nobody thought... certainly, when this was sold to le, the brexiteers said this would be easy. it's been anything but. and i think there's a tremendoou of brexit fatigue. even some people who voted to remain would like to see thi done. i hear it even from some young people. so, i think people are very erred of it. it's been very iting. you talk to people, and they'll say, "even if there is short-term economic damage, i just want the country to move on." ... it's very striking. that said, thousands were out today, saying, "we need a new referendum in this country. the deal that boris son has is not at all we voted for for a 2016." so, the untry also remains very divided. >> stewart: what is supposed to happen next? what are the next milestones? >> what i think that we will see is, on monday or tuesday, bor johnson will try to bring this bill back. we will also see lawmakerso back to the courts to force him to ask for an extension from

brussels. and, as is often the case, when we get into these brexit crunche when we get close to deadlines, we just have to see plays out.y to day how this >> stewart: n.p.r.'s frank langfitt, thank you so much.s >> thar having me, alison. ch>> stewart: to w democtic presidential candidate bernie sander's comeback rally saturday in new york, visit www.pbs.org/wshour. >> stewart: clashes between turkish-backed syrian soiers and kuish forces continued in syria today despite a u.s. brokered cease fire. both sides are blaming the othee for the attacks that came on the nd day of the planned five- day halt in fighting. wee agreement negotiated b vice president mike pence and turkish president reccep tayyipo n requires tt kurdish forces withdraw from territory along the syria-turkey border. but the kurds are accusing turkey of failing to maintain a wofe corridor for the passage of civilians and thded. speaking at an event today, erdogan warned that turkey wil"" rdcrush the heads" of h

fighters if they do not withdraw by tuesday evening. today, thousan of anti- government demonstrators returned to the streets of lebanon for a day.straight protesters angry over ther country's failing economy called for a new government, waving flags and marching past storefronts at were smashed in rioting last night. yesterday, lebanon's prime minister gave his government a 72-houdeadline to agree on a plan to avert an economic crisis d put an end to the demonstrations. in a televised speech today, the leader of zbollah said the group opposes a change in government and said every citizen is responsible for theis financial crisis. florida's gulf coast is under a storm surge warning of up to four feet as what was tropical storm nestor conties to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the system was dd this morning but it is expected to affect florida, parts of alabama, georgia and the carolinas through tomorrow. m early thning, several tornadoes spun off the storm and

hit parts of florida, damaging homes.o there were nported injuries. : >> stewa tuesday, a cuban seeking asylum in the u.s. whocu had been in icody in louisiana for months died by an apparent suicideez roylan hernaiaz had been on a hunger strike and had aimed abuse in prison. ter ofana has become a c americs migrant detainee effort, housing almost 8,000 of the more than 51,000 people currently behind bars. many of them are held in remote prisons and jails far from legal representation. reporting in cooperation with th"new orleans advocate" a itvs, newshour weekend's special correspondent, joanne elgart jennings, has the story, the first in a our two-part report. >> reporter: when attorney homero lopez needs to meet in person with clients held in immigration detention, he has to

hoke long drives from his me in new orleans. >> if you do a day trip, you're talking about six to eight houre of drive, noincluding the time that you're physically there. >> reporter: his non-profit immigration services and legal advocacy provis free legal representation for migrants detained in louisiana. and with more and more detention centers being opened in rural areas, he spends a lot of time in his car. >> there's a limited amount of people who are doing the detained cases in louisiana because it is... they are so far, so rural, so difficult to... to get to and to handle. >> reporter: most of lopez's clients are at the pine prairie ice processing center.es it's 180 morthwest of new orans and holds up to 1,09 detainees. though it's a federal facility, it's run and staffed b group, a private prison company that contracts with the u.s. government. geo declined our request to tour the detention center, but we were permitted to enter the

visitation area and meet some of lopez's client 32-year-old cristian deleon has been in ice custody for 14 months a native of guatemala, deleon came to the u.s. on a wo visa which has since expired. he was living in alabama with his fiancée and their three children and working in construction. how did you end up here in ice detention in louisiana? >> ( translated ): i had a small car accident, and the police me to help me, and then they arrested me. >> reporter: deleon was charged with driving under the influence. he says when his fiancée came to pay his bond, the police wouldn't let her. >> ( translated ): they said that ice was already coming for >> reporter: ice issued a deportation order, which deleon is appealing. meanwhile, he married his a brf prison ceremony.itizen, in he's now applying for a greensp card as hese.

ezleon is not typical of l clients.ie most have applied for asylum because they fred for their ves in their home country, like 36-year-old jamal jamal, who came to the u.s. from pakistan. he says he had fthlen in love woman whose family had arranged a marriage for her with another ma t when the womd her family she wanted to marry jamal instea they killed her. a tribal councilhen ordered jamal's execution, so he fled the country. what do you think will hapn if h you are deported back to pakistan? >> reporter: on arrival in the u.s., he asked for asylum. he's been in ice detention for 11 months as his case makes its way through immigration court. katie schwarnntzs legal director of the american civil liberties union in louisiana. she says that migrants like jamal who enter the u.s. legally seeking asylum a demonstrate a "credible fear" of returning to their home country

should be released on bond. >> they're entitled to consideration for something that our immigration law calls "humanitarian parole," which means the right to remain out in the community in the united states as ice considers whether the grant of asylum is appropriate. >> reporter: ice's regional office in new orleans ise responsir five southern states, including louisiana. on recently as 2016, under the obama administrait approved parole for almost 76% of asylum cases. under the trump administration, that number has plunged to 1.5%. the a.c.u. and the southern poverty law center have filed suit against the department of homeland security. they allege that ice n orleans office is categorically denying paro to asylum seekers in a "violation of d.h.s.' ownd directive idelines." a federal judge agreed, noting

in september tt the number of parole approvals had dropped to 0% in 2019. he ruled that d.h.s. must consider granting parole to detainees seeking asylum. the government is appealing the ruling. ice officials say parole is designed to be narrowly applied. bryan cox is acting press secretary. >> the reality is, is that if people could show up at the border, make a claim and be released into the interior of the united states, not everye will then appear in court. and so, detention in some instances is a necessary use of resources to ensure that persons ve in fact appear in court. >> reporter: butthe past year, ice has held more migrants in detention than ever before, and many are here in louisiana. last year, there were twopr ons holding about 2,500 ice detainees. now, there are 11 holding almosp 9,000 . detained migrants are less thlikely to win asylum thae who await trial on the outside.

homero lopez's clients are among the luy few who have legal representation. >> buenos dias, dixan. como estas? >> reporter: on this day, lopez is meeting with dixan hernandez naranjo via video conference. not all detention centers allow the practice. they're tryi to tiepare for the tough questioning hernandez will facin an asylum hearing the next day. >> le mentiste a ice? no, no, no, no, no. >> reporter: in his native cuba, hernandez was a tour guide.he ays governnt officials accused him of speaking unpatrio jailed him repeatedly for what he calls "thought crimes." while in ice detention at pine prairie, hernandez participated in a hunger rike. he says he and his fellow protesters were being unfairly incarcerated. >> ( translated ): we are not criminals. we just sily want to fight for our rights, like anybody who comes to seek asylum. >> repter: he was placed in solitary confinement for his participation and missed a

meeting with lopez. now, they are hang one last session before the hearing. the next morning, lopez makes a three-and-a-half-hour drive tooa ale, a small town in central louisiana which is mostly comprised of a strip of chain stores. tucked inside a federal correctional complex is the nondescript oakdale ation court. it handles all cases for migrants detaiaid at pine pre. lopez is here to present hernandez's asylum cas he's hopeful, but he knows the odds are not in his client's favor. >> our judges have a very low approval rate for relief for asylum, particular, and we just don't see a lot of wins, unfortunately. f >> reportem 2013 to 2018, judges at this court deniedt asylum nearly 90% of the time. but lopez and his law paner, al page, have beaten the odds lately. they won five out of eight asylum cases while we were in louisiana. naranjo.e wins: dixan herndandez

we caught up with him at the bus station in new orleans shortly after he was released from detention. hernandez says he's grateful to be out in what he calls "a country with freedom," but he says the treatment he received in detention, especially in solitary confinement, was not what he expected in the united states. >> i had the same experience when i've been in the hole, was like the same experience whenex i'm in the hole in cuba. maybe more dangerous than cuba. >> reporter: jamal jamal andis an deleon remain in ice detention. a judge recently denied jamal's application for asylum. he decided to appeal the decision rather than be deported immediately. deleon has fallen ill and is being sted for a heart condition. >> stewart: from frequent flyer programs texclusive hotels and

secret societies, there are many wayseople chase status. but as writer-comedian john hodgman tells it in a new memoir, the's as much a story of losing that status as in gaining it. pbs newshour weekend's christopher booker sat down to chat with hodgman to finout more. >> reporter: it was a pair of short-legged cattle herding dogs that confirmed onef john hodgman's creeping suspicions. >> that's linus the corgi and chomrs the corgi, two extremely popular corgis on instagram. i learned this when they we invited to the same exclusive party that i was, and i realized they were more famous than me. >> reporter: though it had been a few years since he had lost a his statwhat he calls a "famous minor television personality," it was the corgis who really humbled him. n >> there wsense hiding my feelings. it was terrible not to be on television, to learn that you were not even as famous as the least famous dog on the but it is a pleasure to be human. >> reporter: while hodgman may enjoy being human, his new bookw "medallion status," is an explanation of what it felt like

when the world reminded him that was indeed what he was. j >> these at true stories from my life-- in this case, my life as a very famous minor television personality-- and all the secret rooms and first-class lounges and exclusive parties that even the minorest fame fords you. and then, what it felt like to be kicked out of those rooms and to come back down to earth as a regular human being >> hello, i'm a mac. >> and i'm a p.c. >> reporter: idgcally, john n had earned his "medallion status," a name he borrowed from a high-pt stige frequyer program, during his time he spent playing a non- human. >> well, at first, i got to download those new drive, and ve got to erase the trial software that came on my hard drive. i could not walk in an airport without people saying, "i'm a p.c." >> what's going on, p.c.? >> oh, this p.c.'s getting an upgrade. because more than anything else i've ever done or ever will do, more eyes were laid on me then than ever before. >> reporter: from 2006 to 2010, hodgman was one half of apple's wildly successful "get a mac" campai. >> actually, the imacs and the macbooks have the cameras built

right . >> rorter: in the commercial he played a p.c. in conversation with an actor playing a younger, hipper apple computer. >> mac, why don't you say something positivebout p.c.? >> okay, easy. p.c., you are a wizard with numbers. >> reporter: p.c. struggled to understand how and why he was >> i guess you are a little better at creative stuff. >> oh, thank you. that's... >> en though it is completely juvenile and a waste of time. >> please welcome john hodgman. hn? ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: hodgman's forayma onto the scrn had started with an appearance on "the daily show with jon stewart" following thepu ication of his first book in 2005. invited him back as a regular contributor.if >> i sense may-- and i don't mean to embarrass you-- i nse "hodgman-mania." >> reporter: a few months later, apple called, and you said no at first. >> oh, yeah. ( laughter ) it's true. i was a dummy. >> reporter: but they came back. >> iuthink abo that, and i get chills because what if they said, "oh, too bad, we've got a million other people to thk about this." how different my life uld be

and how... not just in terms of famous success but in... in... in richness and exrience. >> reporter: yeah, we probably wouldn't be talking. >> we'd probably be grea >> hey, p.c., nt to see the web site and home movie i made? >> "oh, i'm so creative, and all my programs are so easy to use." >> reporter: during his run of 66 commercials for apple, hodgman continued to conibute to "the daily show" while landing additional acting roles. >> i just don't like your uterus. don't get me wrong-- your eggs are in great shape, but you have a t-shaped uterus. >> reporter: in 2009, he was even asked to roast the president of the united states. >> is the president truly nerdcore? or is it all just an act as fake as those obviously prosthetic ears? >> reporter: all of these experiences provided hodgman a level of access few are granted. >> not just the sky club at j.f.k., and not just, you know, xury hotels and so forth, but the emmys where swag is given away to you simply because you ist while being famous, and where leaders of tld areetings

meeting in secret to have a party and you realize every t conspiraory is true. and it's part of my obligation, i suppose, to show what's goingn on in thershowing how status and fame and power and alof these small little vestments that we put on are really actually very flimsy and deserve to be lled off every now and then so that we can really see ourselves. >> reporter: but after the apple campaign ended and then jon stewart went off the air,ew hodgman says the invitations started to slow. and then came the run in with the corgis. >> we all lose jobs, owe age out of jobs, or we get dumped by someone, or a teacher takes us aside and said, "you're not doing a great job," you know. we all lose status, and even though it might make you defensive and angry, if you take a moment, you can also refle. you can readjust who you are and what you want to do in your life, and you can be betr. so, humiliation is a, you know... except when it's purely cruel, it's actually a kind of gift, you know, and it is part of the same impulse that leads to humility.

>> this is pbs newshour weekendy satu >> stewart: with all the attention turned to brexit lately, some may have overlooked an important mestone in london this week. stminster abbey celebrated the 750th anniversary of the church's consecration. newshour weekend's megan thompson has the story. >> reporter: church rang out earlier this week for the gothic-style church wase french 3,consecrated on october 1269, by king henriii. >> this is the third church on this site, and it's 750 years old this week. >> i mean, the place is unbelievable iterms of the number of... number of things that go on, the number of visitors who ce, the enormous number of people who come and worship day by day by day. and even some we havhundred, 2,000 on sundays on average, so

it's an extraordinary place with lots going on. >> reporter: queen elizabeth and camilla, the duchess of cornwall attended a service in observation of the anniversary and met withhurch officials. 16 royal weddings have been held at westminster as wells every royal coronation since 1066. the church was originally founded by benedictine monks in 960 a.d. and over the centuries has welcomed worshippers from l over the world and of various faiths. >> i think a very important t theme abbey is that of one people. it's a center for all faiths, a lot of interfaith services,st chns and jews, relationship with the catholic church, too. and i think the abbe since thetr 1960s had to reach out to a very broad const iuency to maelf a national church but in a new age. >> reporter: the churc houses the shrine of st. edward and a number of historic coections dating back to t

tenth century. continue our signature series on the expansion of ice detention centers in louisiana, and wel look at prime minister justin trudeau's bid for a second term in monday's canadian election. that's all for this n of pbs newshour weekend i'm alison stewart. thanks for watching. have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org pbs newshour weekend is made possible by:

bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter, in memory of george o'neil. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america, designing customized individual and group retirement products. that'shy we're your retirement company. additional support has beened provy: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporion funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like thank you. be more. pbs. - [announcer] explore new worlds and new ideas

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