captioning sponsored by wnet >> thompson: on this edition for sunday, november 10: impeachment inquiry enters a new phase this week with public hearings. and in our signature story, humanitarian aid workerslong the border face increasing prosecutions under federal law next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. p the cheryl and philstein family. salind p. walter, in memory of george o'neil.ba ara hope zuckerberg. acorpfunding is provided edy mutual of america, designing

customndividual and group retirement products. nretirement comre your additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private rporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your s station from viewers like you. thank you. om the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york megan thompson. >> thompson: good evening andfo thank yojoining us. the impeachment inquiry will enter a new phase this week with the first public hearings scheduled before the house intelligence committee. on wednesday, william taylor, ukraine, and george kent, a senior state department official in charge of ukraine will testify. on friday, former ambassador to ukraine marie yovanovitch will testify. yesterday, republicans submitt names of at least eight people they would like see testify, including former vice president

joe biden's son, hunter. and the and the anonymous whistleblower, whose complaint kicked off the impeachment inquiry. adam schiff, the democraticho chairman of the intelligence committee, responded in a letter that the hearings "will not serve as ouhicles for any member to carry the same sham investigations rato the bidens or debunked conses about 2016 us election interference that president trump pressed ukrae to conduct." schiff also wrote that the whistleblower has the right to remain anonymo that evidence already collected confirms the whistleblower's complaint. how the impeachment inquiry started, and the process so far, remains a point of criticism for republicans. >> i consiy impeachment in the house that doesn't allow us to ktlnow who the whlower is to be invalid. because without the whistleblower complaint we wouldn't be talking about any of >> thompson: repus are also addressing some of the underlying allegations that president trump pressed ukraine to instigate a political

rival, possibly in return for military aid. >> i believe it was inappropriate, i do not believe it was impeachable. >> here are the two possibly scenarios: number one, e president asked for an investigation into a political rival. number two: the president asked r an investigation into possibly corruption by someone who happens to be a political rival. the latter would be in the national interest. the former would be in the president's parochial interest and would be over the line. >> thompson: democrats are defending the inquiry and e that the public hearings will play an important role. >> we have enough evidence from the depositions that we've done to warrant bringing this forward, evidence of an ngextortion scheme uaxpayer dollars to ask a foreign government to investigate the president's opponent. but it's important that these witness raise their right hands and take questions from both republicans and democrats. the president is gointo get that.

most recent developments in the impeachment inquiry and what's in store this week, newshour correspondenlisa desjardins joins us now from washington, d.c. committee chairman adam schiff has already rejected at least two of the people that republicans wa to see testify nter, biden and the whistleblower. are there any people on their list that we think that democrats will go for? >> reporter: my guess is that th volker, the former u.s. envoy to ukraine. he is someone that republicans and democrats think helps both of their cases. and he testified in behind closed doors and i think it's also very possible they'ltwcall the othewitnesses they've already heard from behind closed doors. that's david hale, he's the number three official at the state department right now, and then in addition to that, tim morrison. he's a national security council official who recently left. republicans like him because he's well kwn to them. he used to work as a house staffer. democrats believe he also adds credence to some of their theories. so those three, i think we coulr see, in agreement on

hearing from for both parties. >> thompson: what else stood out to you about this republican list? >> reporter: well, this is n a unique thought for merebut it is ining that not only do republicans want to call the whistleblower, whose name they say th don't know, or that public because it'ectedng out in from lawmakers disclosing, but they also want to call anyone who helped that whister put together the letter raising edcomplaint, anyone who hehe whistleblower along the way >> thompson: are republicans completely united in their desirewe to see the whistleb testify? >> reporter: oh, i don't know if rearpublicanunited on the nuances here, but i do think the publicans are united in wanting to try and find out what sothis ps motivations were. is this someone who has worked with democraticfficials in the st and could have a political bias against the president? tt.y all want to find that they disagree on how far to go to do that. >> thompson: white house chief of staff mick mulvaney did not show up on friday to testify,

even though he did receive a and now we're learning this weekend that he's joining a lawsuit over how subpoena power. what is that all about? >> reporter.: it's fascinati mulvaney, who himself is technically the top staffer ate white house, is saying that he is unsure if he should follow white house directives that he not testify or if he should comply with the subpoena. this is a change from his flat refusal before. mulvay w, rather than just flat reject the subpoena, is saying, "hey, i want to wait for a courult toin." there's a lot of strategy here. we could go on for hours, but essentially, i thi more of what mulvaney is doing here is he doesn't want to add to democrats case for obstruction. he wants to say, "hey, the only reason'm not cooperating is because i'm waiting for a court," rather than "i refused to." democrats think he is obstructing their investigation, and they will raise that >> thompson: anothcentral player in all of this is president tatmp's personal rney, rudy giuliani.

democrats have not requested his testony. why is that so interesting? >> reporter: you know, they did subpoe documents from mr. giuliani in september, so early on he refused, and they believe that he would continue to refuse a subpoena for testimony, but nonetheless, they haven't issued it. i am wondering myself exactly why they haven't issued that subpna, and we know that republicans also have not requested his testimony. what you might take away from this is both sides believee could either be a shield or a detriment to the president, and both sides are nervous potentially about his testimony. at this point, i wouldn't be surprised if his name comes up later, but we have to wait and see. there's a lot of very-- there's a lot of caution about rudy giuliani. both sides know he's unpredictable. thompson: so the hearing will kick off on wednesday morning. what can we expect to see happen? how is it all gonna work and what are you gonna be looking for? ne reporter: well, i think anho wants to come need to get in line early.

i expect a long line for this one, and we're going te gonna have three witnesses this weekend, starting with bill taylor, who now the lead ambassador, the lead diplomat rather in ukraine and kiev, followed by another state department official,e kent, a long-time career ficial here in washingto and then finally, next week will we hear from the former ivanovich.o ukraine, maria these are all three of the tnesses, democrats feel, for their case that the president or his staff or bot were trying to extort ukraine, essentially to force them get investigations in exchange for millions of dollars that ukraine needed. so we're going to hear a lot about that from democrats with all of these witnesses. but in the meantime, republicant arl getting together on exactly the points they want to sh the most. the messaging has changed again and again, but i think they're most likely to raise the idea that no one directly connects that idea of a quid pro quo or forcing ukraine to do something from aid money to the president.

none of these witnesses heard that directly from the president. they also are very likely to raise these other investigations that they think are the real problem. the idea of hunter biden, what was he doing in ukraine and the 2016 election? we mocould se fights about whether that is a conspiracy theory, as democrats say, or something relevant as republicans argue. >> thompson: lisa desjardin we look forward to hearing a lou t more from is week. thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> thopson: bolivia's president evo morales resigned ln e this afternter the country's military leader called for him to step down and after weeks of , otests. ju hours earlirales called for new elections after the organization of american states released a report that found "a heap of observed irregularities" in octobes presidential election. three people have died and

violent nationwide injured in demonstrations since the disputed election. in iraq today, violent government demonstrations continued one day after six people were killed in central baghdad. security forces used live ammunition, tear gas, and sound bombs protesters while fighting to take back control of the last major bridgthat leads to the government headquarters. security forces also put up concrete barriers in central baghdad to block the protests' movements. iraqi security forces have killed more than 260 demonstrators since the protests began in october. mourning the death of a student activist and angry over the arrest of mocracy lawmakers confronted police in hong kong today. prrs vandalized a shopping mall and a subway station before riot police armed with tear gas confronted them. pro-democracy lawmakers are warning that the government may use the violence as an excuse to

postngpone or cancel hong ko district council elections scheduled for later this month. arrested since the protests been began six months ago. tr aia, half of the more than 70 wildfires in the state of new south les are still not under control and officials are watrrning of cathic conditions to come. winds dropped slightly torey across thon where three people have died since last friday. but forecasts of high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity for tuesday caused officials to warn residents in sydney-- australia's largest city-- of a catastrophic fire danger. it's the first time sydney has been placed on the highest alert since new fire danger ratis were introduced in 2009. and in london today british royalty and political leaders marked remembrance day. at 11:00 a.m., big ben sounded and the assembled crowd observed a two minute moment of silence. remembrance day is an annual

evt inhe u.k. to commemorate the end of world war i in november of 1918 and to honor s.ose killed then and in subsequent w in a sepate event, 750,000 red paper poppies, used as symbols of those who served, were dropped from a world war ii-ere. ll mercury ross between the sun and the earth on monday morning. watch it live at pbs.org/newshour. >> thompson: this week aan humanitaid worker goes on trial in arizona for allegedly migrants who enter country illegally. the charges fall under u.s.in harblaws which prohibit people from concealing or shielding any unauthorized individuals who come into and remain in the united states. but migrant rights advocates in arizona say the forcement of these laws is wholly political and is being used to prah an anti-imm agenda, discouraging good samaritan efforts along the border. newshour weekend's ivette liciano has more

>> this one says, "vaya con la fuerza de dios," which means "go with the strength of god." >> reporter: on a 90-degree day in early september, paige corich-kleim and maria rodriguez set out into arizona's cabeza prieta national wildlife refuge on a mission. there they left canned food, water and socks for any migrants traveling from mexico into the u.s. through this difficult terrain. >> when it's thihot and people they are, dehydration is an issue, but also hyponatremia, which is a st and electrolyte imbalance. things that might in like an everyday hike not be a big deal alike blister, out here can be deadly. 'cause they result in people not being able to keep up with their group and tting left behind. >> reporter: corich-kleim and rodriguez are both volunteers with the interfaith humanitarian organization called "no more deaths." undocumented migraattemptings of to enter the country on foot through arizona's dangerous deserts. >> wtrack all of the work that

we do and make sure that we're looking at which dropsre effective, and getting to people who need it, and which ones aren't. >> reporter: it's oneveral organizations born in the last 20 years as a result of what the groups call a humanitarian crisis along the u.s.-mexico border. in that time, more than 7,500 migrants have died crossing the border, according to u.s. border patrol statistics anre in arizona, more th 3,000 mi have died in the desert, according to the pima county office of the medical examin the actual number of border deaths is unknown,ecause the figures only include cases reported to the authorities, and no one knows how many bodies have never been found. >> the journey has gotten a lot longer and more difficult. even in the past 10 years. >> reporter: corich-kleim believes the rise in migrant deaths here is airect result of a border enforcement strategy that began under president clinton in 1994 called "preventn through deterrence."

it more than tripled the alnpower and infrastructure g the border and closed off traditional ports of entry ysoser to main roads and highrerouting migrants to some of the most barren areas of the desert. >> a lot of our ops used to be really big and close to roads. and just consistently people are getting pushed into more and re remote corridors. >> reporter: in a press release there are 34 rescue beaconsid locate sector, and that it rescued 750 people in fiscal year 2017. volunteers with the group "no more deaths" also go on arch and rescue missions and document border enforcement activity. but the federal government says they're breaking t law. in recent years, several have brought against them.charges this year, four were convicted on misdemeanor criminal charges that stemmed from an encounter with a u.s. fish and wildlife officer at the cabeza prieta

national wildlife refuge. the charges included abandoning pesonal property, which federal regulations prohibit, and entering a protected wilderness area without a permit, something all visitors to the wderness refuge must obtain and sign. 22-year-old zaachila orozco is one othose convicted. > we did not have permits because we did not agree with thelause that indicated that one could not leave food and water and other supplies in the desert because, to us, that infringed on the humanitarian aid work that we were providing at is necessary. >> reporter: what was your reaction when you heard "federal charges?" >> a little ludicrous? i don't kfrnow. i mean the very beginning, the prosecution was pushing for maximum penalties. which included six months in and $5,000 per charge.charge.

>> reporter: a sposperson for the u.s. fish and wildlife service told pbs newshour weekend in an eml that "all visitors are required and expected to adhere tral laws and regulations while visiting refuge lands." a federal magistrate judge ordered orozco and her three co-defendants to each pay a $250 fine and sentencedhem to 15 months of unsupervised probation. they are all currently appealing the decision. >> this is not something new. >> reporter: it's a situation that reverend john fife, a co-founder of "no more deaths, is familiar with. >> this is the latest attempt-- after long-- history of threats and attempts to-- convict us of various-- so-called crimes for providing humanitarian aid out there. >> reporter: he says since 2005, several "no more deaths" volunteeracs have f felony charges for transporting undocumented migrants, and

criminal misdemeanors for leaving food and water in the desert. >> we have thaonsibility under the law and under international red cr standards. the international red cross code of conduct says, clear everyone has the right to provide humanitarian aid in an-- in an area of disaster like this, where thousands of people have died. >> reporter: as an ordained presbyterian ministest fife was ar back in 1985 after his congregation became the fit religious institution in the u.s. to offer sanctuary to migrants who faced deportation. >> a real bunch of desperados-- there were two catholic priests and three nuns and the director of the tucn ecumenical council and myself who were charged with various lony crimes. >> reporter: among other charges, fife and some of his co-defendants were eventually

found guil of transporting and concealing undocumented migrants. 33 years later, in january of 2018, "no more deaths" volunteer sct warren was arrested on similar charges, for allegedly harboring and shielding two undocumented migrants from law enforcement at the group's base-camp in ajo, arizona. fife contends warren was simply providing humanitarian aid in keeping with "no more deaths" protocol.ga >> h food and water and some medical care to two migrants who just showed up at our base camp. >> reporter: but in court documents, federal prosecutors disputed that claim, arguing that warren "did not provide medil attention, nor were people associated with the charges in distress." they also said he was "not required by his liefs to aid in thevasion of law enforcement." warren's first trial in a mistrial after jurors couldn't

reach a verdict, but federal prosecutors will seek to retry him this week on twoy harboring charges. he declined an interview for this story due to the pendin trial. on the enforcement effort always dependhat the political context is and the messaging. >> reporter: longtime migrant rights advocate and lawyer margo cowan says she's represented dozens of humanitarianid workers who have faced criminal charges. we interviewed her at a migrant legal aid clinic that she supervises for "no more deaths" in tucson. >> we have gone throriods where the u.s. attorney has said to his clients, the land managers and the border patrol, "don't cite these people. don't-- don't bring these cases to me. because we're not going to prosecute them." >> repter: arrests of people who provide aid to migrants have been on the rise since 2015, and spiked i2017 when then-attorney general jeff sessions ordered federal prosecuts to prioritize cases covered under the harboring statute.

in fiscal year 2019, there wer closto 4,000 convictions for "bringing in and harboring certain alns," a 34% rise compared to five years ago, according to da from syracuse university. >> the idea to prosea te scott sendssage to the larger community, "if you se somebody lying beside the road, you can't stop and help them, because it might be a felony." i mean, there's all sorts of levels of communication that go on in these kinds of prosecutions, not just directed at the volunteer. >> reporter: john fi believes border patrol agents targeted "no more deaths" because of a rert the group published on the morning of scott warren's arrest. i vt includeo allegedly showing agents destroying gallons of water they'd left for travelers in the desert, an act the group says the border patrol frequently performs. t>> we releast report and sent a copy to the bord patrol

at 8:00 in the morning. by 4:00 in the afternoon, agents d raided our base camp and charged scott warren with felony charges. >> reporter: u.s. customs and border protection did not respond to pbs newshour weekend's requests for an interview or writatement despite the legal challenges facing "no more deaths" and other groups, fife believes that the u.s. government's actions will do more to help their cause th to hinder it. >> everybody who's doing hulynitarian aid work global t lo saes-- we have a respons maintain our right to provide manitarian aid. so, the charges have really-- galvanized an international awareness of the basic human right-- to provide humanitarian aid under these circumstances.

>> this is pbs newshour weekend, sunday. >> thompson: in the russian region of north ossetia an 83- year-old woman is still delivering the mail-- on foot. she's become somethg of a celebrity, and after more than 50 years on the job, neither mountain roads nor fans who want selfies slow her down. six days a week, ekaterina ardzalaeva walks aous 25 mile round trip route, delivering the mail to three smaltos in a mountainous region near russia's border with georgia. after be oing profillocal television, she's become something of a celebrity. she's often stopped along herfo routselfies and hugs. >> ( translated he): we respect age very much, especially considering that it is a mountain area. i don't ink it's easy even for young people to walk along these roads. >> thompson: : n 83, dzalaeva was inspired to bmaome a postwoduring world war ii

when her brother was sent to the frontlines and letters were the only source of news. >> ( translated ): then i told myself that when i grow up, i'l definitely becpostwoman. then people will be waiting for me and they will love me. >> thompson: her brother never retuged from the war, sendin his last letter in 1942. she says walking the mountain roads is both financially and emotionally beneficial-- bringing her relief from thoughts of family she has lost >> ( translated ): my salary isn't that big, but it helps me. i find it easier when i'm walking. i find it easier whei chat to peple. i've experienced a lot of sorrow and i think about it when i'm doing nothing and it's difficult m but when i leave home, it's easier. >> thompson: these days, dzalaeva does take an occasional offer of a ride along her mail rote, but mostly she walks. 25 miles a day-- six days a week.

>> thompson: newshll broadcast the upcoming impeachment inquiry public hearings live on wednesday and frnd stream them on demand on all digital platforms. wednesday's hearing set to 00begin at 1.m. eastern time. check your local station's coverage.for additional and tomorrows veterans' day-- a day to honor and all who serve or have served in our armed forces. that's all for this edition of" pbs newshour weekend." i'm megan thompson. thanks for watching. have a good night. captioning sponsoredy wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz.

wachenheim iii. the cheryl and philip milstein family. 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's why we're your additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people.tr and by cutions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. be more. pbs.

- our family immigrated to the united states in the late 70s. and my grandmother immigrated with us. w i was at her hipn she was . in the late 70s. every year we had a garden that she tended to and i'd help her pickegetables. our family table growing up