08/29/14 08/29/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! doubt that this is not a homegrown, indigenous uprising in eastern ukraine. separatist are back trained, armed financed by russia. throughout this process, we have seen deep russian involvement

and everything that they have done. >> as tensions escalate in eastern ukraine, the united states estimates twice 600 people have died in the conflict since april. we will speak to jonathan steele of the guardian. in 100 45 people are arrested outside the white house. to stopt obama deportations and come up with a good plan for everybody, for everybody, not just for a few over here in a few over there. take the reins and come up with a plan. yes or no. as congress fails to act on immigration, will president obama take executive action? we will speak to congressmember luis gutiérrez in chicago. "war comes home." >> don't move1 don't move! >> we will look at a report on of americanzation

policing. police departments not only in ferguson, missouri, but cities around the country are now resembling military units armed wars inpons back from iraq and afghanistan. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. tensions continue to mount between the u.s. and russia over alleged russian military operations inside ukraine. on thursday, nato released satellite images that says show russian artillery, vehicles, and troops in and around eastern ukraine. at the united nations, u.s. ambassador samantha power accused russia of duplicity. instead of listening and heating the demands of the international community and the rules of the international order , at every step, russia has come before this council to say everything except the truth. it has manipulated and outright

lied. we have learned to measure russia by its actions and not by its words. in the last 48 hours, russia's actions have spoken volumes. >> russia has questioned the satellite photos, accusing the u.s. of meddling and blaming ukraine for failing to honor previous agreements. a new human rights watch report accuses the russian backed separatist rebels of arbitrarily detaining civilians and subjecting them to torture, degrading treatment, and forced labor. ambassadors from the 28 nato countries and ukraine are holding an emergency meeting today. we will have more on the crisis in ukraine after headlines. president obama is sending secretary of state john kerry to the middle east to help build a regional coalition against the islamic state, or isil. it is the militant group that has seized large parts of iraq and syria. speaking at the white house, obama also said he has asked the pentagon to drop a range of military options. >> i've asked secretary kerry to

travel to the region to continue to build the coalition needed to meet this threat. as i have said, ruling out isil one of the quick, but we can and will working closely with our allies and partners. secretary hagel and joint chiefs of staff will prepare a range of options. i will be meeting with my national security council again this evening as we continue to develop that strategy. >> president obama went on to tell reporters -- "we don't have a strategy yet." the white house is mulling options including expanding us airstrikes on isil into syria and iraq. the u.s. admitted this be defined surveillance missions. the potential for u.s. strikes in isil in syria continues as the group continues its bloody fight. a new youtube video shows the bodies of some 250 syrian

soldiers reportedly killed by islamic state fighters. the video was reportedly taken after the islamic state seized an airbase in raqqa. four western hostages held by the islamic state in syria were reportedly subjected to water boarding. the washington post reports the hostages were waterboarded several times early in the captivity, including the beheaded american journalist james foley. the isil waterboarding was a poorly modeled on the cia's use of it to interrogate prisoners following 9/11. obama banned waterboarding upon taking office in 2009 and recently described it as torture. continues totions warn of a dire human a terry and situation in syria. the official death toll from over three years of civil war was recently increased to 190 1000 -- though the actual number is far higher. the un's deputy emergency relief coordinator briefed the security

council on thursday. >> mr. president, over the past six months, the plight of people in syria has not been reduced, but has deepened. the violence and conflict continues unabated with more deaths of women, children, and men. the social and economic havoc of the country has been ripped to shreds. >> more than 1000 people were killed or injured in syria last month. the official number of refugees has topped 3 million, an increase of one million in the last year. syrian rebels with the al qaeda front havea reportedly captured dozens of you and peacekeepers. around 43 fujian troops with the yuan force have been seized, and dozens more from the philippines are said to be trapped. the capture comes after syrian rebels traded gunfire with israeli troops at a border crossing between israel and syria. more than 100 people have been

arrested in front of the white house protesting the deportation of undocumented immigrants. demonstrators laid red carnations over photos of loved ones to have been deported. the rally came as part of a national day of action in more than a dozen cities participated, not president obama to take executive action. so i can workdaca legally, but i am the only one of my family. i want her to have the opportunity to make as much money as i do, no matter what kind of work she is doing. i feel like i need to be out here in support of everyone, because i want everyone to have equal rights. >> speaking inside the white house, president obama renewed his pleas to congress for the passage of immigration reform, but he also suggested he would take executive action if it is feel the way to a act. >> i have been very clear about the fact our immigration system

is broken and needs to be fixed. and my preference continues to be that congress act. i don't think anyone thinks that congress is going to act in the short-term, but hope springs eternal that after the midterm elections, they may act. the good news is, we started to make progress. what we're seen so far is throughout the summer, the number of apprehensions have been decreasing. maybe that is counterintuitive, but that is a good thing because that means fewer folks are coming across. talks we'll have more on the calls for federal action on immigration later in the broadcast with congress member luis gutiérrez. nine mexican immigrants who say they were coerced into accepting deportation have won the right states.n to the united the aclu filed a lawsuit on behalf of the immigrants last year, claiming they were misinformed and pressured into signing voluntary deportation paperwork. under an agreement unveiled this week, immigration authorities have pledged to change their

practices and provide detained immigrants with access to accurate information and outside communication. tole the case applies only nine people deported from california, a judge could potentially expand it to thousands of others. argentina is facing its second general strike this year over inflation and unemployment. a 24 unions have called hour work stoppage nationwide, slowing travel and public services. the action follows an initial general strike held in april. the national football league has changed its domestic violence policy following public outcry over lacks standards. nfl camehis year, the under criticism after baltimore ravens runningback ray rice was suspended just two games, despite video footage showing him dragging his unconscious fiancée by her hair and dropping her face first onto the ground out of an elevator.

witnesses say rice had punched his fiancé moments before. in a statement, nfl commissioner roger goodell said his initial response was inadequate, saying "i didn't get it right." under the new rules, a first offense will result in a six-game suspension, and a second offense could earn a lifetime ban. a group of protesters in ferguson, missouri has filed a lawsuit against local police for alleged abuses in the crackdown on the protests over the killing of michael brown. the group black lawyers for justice is seeking $41.5 million on behalf of five plaintiffs who say they were detained, beaten, tear gassed, or shot with rubber bullet in the protests first days. one of the plaintiffs says police used racial epithets after shooting him with rubber bullets and was drowning him in a ditch. the company behind a video messaging app meanwhile has authenticated a recording allegedly capturing the moment brown was shot. and unidentified resident was

taking a message for a friend when the gunshots rang out in the background, at least 10 in total. the company glide has confirmed the recording was made at the time of the shooting. those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. >> before we move on with our first segment, you have an interesting column today. >> i reported today on what is about to happen in new york city, one of the biggest, most of vicious experiments in reforming public education in years in the united states. starting next week, new york will be offering free full day prekindergarten classes to .hildren in new york city until now, there is only been a small, mostly half-day pre-k

program. the signature initiative of the new the blood zero administration is this universal pre-k, effectively adding an entire year to the school year of any child in the public schools because they will start school at four years of age instead of five in kindergarten. asterday the mayor announced 50,000 children have already registered for the new pre-k program. that is an immense number. the entire public school system of seattle i think is only 47,000 or 48,000 children. the city is actually adding 30,000 new children. there were 20,000 in pre-k faster, which is honest equal to the public school system of cincinnati. this is a huge endeavor. thousands of teachers have been hired and trained, hundreds of sites and both committed the organizations of public schools have been identified. they have had to rush this out

only since march, which is when the legislature -- the state legislature approved funding for the program after de blasio lobbied fiercely for it. it is a major change, not to mention the fact that countless numbers of parents who until now have had to pay for child care for their four-year-olds will now not have to worry about this extreme, large cost in their budget of private childcare. it is a major change. if it succeeds, you may see cities across the country moving toward universal pre-k, full day pre-k. there are bounds to be problems initially with it, but i know educators around the country are looking to see what happens with this program. >> we will continue to follow it. the united states and nato are openly accusing russia of sending combat forces into ukraine as tensions continue to mount between the two countries following the two in february that toppled ukraine's elected

government. according to the united nations, nearly 2600 people have been killed in eastern ukraine since april and fighting between ukrainian forces and separatist rebels so pathetic to russia. that figure does not include the 298 victims of the malaysian airlines plane crash. >> on thursday, at least 15 civilians were killed when ukrainian forces shelled donetsk. meanwhile, new human rights watch report accuses the rebels of arbitrarily detaining civilians and subjecting them to torture, degrading treatment, and forced labor. on thursday, president obama addressed the crisis after nato released satellite images they say shows russian artillery, vehicles, and troops in and around eastern ukraine. >> i just spoke with chancellor merkel of germany on the situation in ukraine. we agreed if there was ever any doubt that russia is responsible for the violence in eastern ukraine, the violence is

encouraged by russia, the separatists are trained by russia, armed by russia, funded by russia. russia has to literally and repeatedly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine. the new images of russian forces inside ukraine make that claim for the world to see. >> president obama also announced ukrainian president poroshenko would visit the united states next month. he was elected in may to replace viktor yanukovych who was ousted in the february coup. ambassadors from the 28 nato countries are holding an emergency meeting today. at the united nations, russian abbasid are vitaly churkin accused the ukrainian government of waging war against its own people by attacking cities in eastern ukraine. the current escalation in the southeast of ukraine is a direct consequence of the reckless policies of kiev, which is

directing war against its own people. with the support and under the influence of a number of states come of the key of authorities have torpedoed all political agreement on resolving the crisis in the ukraine. >> to talk about the crisis we go to london where we are joined by jonathan steele, the former moscow correspondent for the guardian. he has authored many books including, "eternal russia: yeltsin, gorbachev, and the mirage of democracy." to democracy now! what do think it is most important to understand about the crisis in ukraine right now? >> i think it is russia is trying to prevent ukraine joining nato, which is what some people in the west, particularly in the baltic countries and poland and neocons in washington, would like it to do. i think the situation could be genetically escalated it president obama now in a big nato summit that will be held in britain next week would say, the u.s. respects the current

strategic position of ukraine, which is nonalignment, and would also say there's no prospect of ukraine joining nato for the next at least 10 or 20 years. i think that would dramatically the escalate the crisis. putin would be immediately impressed and would be willing to make the concessions that are necessary. >> jonathan steele, what you make of the fact it has only been a couple of days since the ukrainian president and putin had a meeting that seem to be -- show promises of de-escalate in the entire crisis? >> i think it shows they did not actually show promises of de-escalating the crisis. tosoon putin was just going dust disappointed with poroshenko and has to escalate the situation. you mentioned what obama has said about chancellor merkel in his speech just a few hours ago. what he did not mention was merkel has said publicly the last few days that there has to

be a cease-fire, there has to be a political -- not a military -- solution and russia's interest cannot be ignored. this is very sensible stuff from chancellor merkel. unfortunately, not echoed publicly or president obama and other nato leaders. that is what i say is really important is to push the cease-fire, which the russians have constantly called for, and get political negotiations which would guarantee the nonalignment in the future of ukraine. >> speaking thursday, president obama said the u.s. will collaborate with its nato allies in dealing with the ukraine crisis, but ruled out military action against russia. >> we will continue to stand firm with our allies and partners that what is happening is wrong, that there is a solution that allows ukraine and russia to live peacefully. but it is not in the cards for us to see a military

confrontation between russia and the united states in this region. keep in mind, however, i am about to go to a nato conference. ,kraine is not a member of nato but a number of the states that are close by our. and we take our article v commitments to defend each other very seriously. >> i was wondering if you could respond to that and also in the u.s. media, you rarely hear russia's side. what are russia's interests? >> it was interesting what he said about nato. again, he missed the crucial was the seas no value in the nonalignment and joining nato. imagine of canada or mexico decided to join an anti-u.s. alignment -- alliance? honestly, the us would be concerned. russia has legitimate concerns

about the expansion of nato. we heard the other day come the secretary-general was saying nato is not an approved position , ring increment and and have bases there. it is only further provocation to moscow. there's a battle going on between hawks and doves and obama is sitting on the fence. he should come down the side of the doves and make his position clear, which i think is somewhere to what merkel has done. even she has not yet dare publicly to come out and say she does not want ukraine to join nato. >> jonathan steele, what do you make of the media coverage in the west or the lack of media coverage over the carnage and civilian casualties in eastern ukraine as a result of the ukrainian forces advancing? glad in yourm very

report, at least, you put in the point the u.n. has come out saying twice 600 people, civilians, have been killed, more than were killed in gaza and the month-long israeli offensive. it is a huge human a train disaster and crisis going on. it is hardly ever mentioned in the u.s. media. as you also pointed out am a the uss the majority of those casualties were caused by the ukrainian army against civilians because they're trying to theree huge cities where are hundreds of thousands of people. many have fled, but there are still hundreds of thousands remaining. russia tried to highlight that whole issue two or three weeks ago when it sent this humanitarian convoy from russia into ukraine. the ukrainians immediately said this is an invasion. the russians than allowed people to look into those convoys. ukrainian border guards looked

into it. there is absolutely no sign a military potential at all. it was simply humanitarian supplies. eventually, it was allowed -- it wasn't allowed in, the russians drove it in because the ukrainians refused the paperwork that was necessary. russia was trying to highlight the civilian casualties, which is also why the keep pushing for cease-fire. unfortunately, ukrainian authorities insist on winning a military victory. first, they thought they could do it earlier this week, by their independence day. but that hasn't happened. they should now recognize they're not going to win a military victory. russia's latest actions show they're going to make sure the forces there, the rebel forces, are not defeated. andn thursday, the u.s. russia had a heated exchange in the united nations over the situation in ukraine. samantha power accused russia of duplicity. andnstead of listening

heating the demands of the international community and the rules of the international order , at every step, rush has come before this council to say everything except the truth. it has manipulated, obfuscated, outright lied. so we have learned to measure russia by its actions and not by its words. in the last 48 hours, russia's actions have spoken volumes. >> samantha power's russian counterpart, vitaly churkin, blamed ukraine for escalating the situation but not honoring political agreements. he also advised the white house to stop meddling in world affairs. now the american ambassador said what kind of message can we sent to russia's neighbors? i was suggest we send a message to washington. stop interfering with the internal affairs of sovereign states. stop trying to undermine a regime that you don't like. restrainer geopolitical ambition. the not only russia's neighbors,

but many other countries around the world would breathe a sigh of relief. >> that is the russian ambassador to the u.n., vitaly churkin and before that, samantha power. jonathan steele, if you could respond to what they said and also talk about nato satellite imagery showing russian troops in ukraine and also the russian troops who were allegedly captured by ukraine and putin saying they were just on holiday in ukraine. i think every big power uses this strategy of so-called plausible deniability. that is what russia has been doing up till now. samantha power has some legitimacy and saying the russians are all the skating and even telling lies. it would be much better if russia cannot clearly and said, we have to defend these people because they're under attack and have legitimate -- they're being attacked by their own governments in ukraine and we have come to their defense.

we're not seeking to take over the whole of ukraine or seeking to separate eastern ukraine from ukraine and join it on to russia. that would be more honest way of handling it. when the eastern ukraine leadership had this referendum two or three month to go about joining russia, putin said they should not hold a referendum. when it took place against his statements, they did not recognize the results of the referendum. there's don't evidence russia is seeking to, as it were, re-create the soviet union and sees this part of ukraine. it is simply trying to defend people who have legitimate interest, worried about kiev;s very anti-russian, pleading anti-russian language strategy and seek to defend them. i think would be better if russia was more honest. on the question of the prisoners, that may well be true those people straight into

ukraine inadvertently. on the question of the satellite pictures, i'm no expert on that. they look potentially convincing, but you would have to get more independent expert opinion on that. we know how in the run-up to the invasion, colin powell on the in the security council had all kinds of photographs that turned out to be fakes. >> jonathan steele what you make of the calls for increasing economic sanctions, especially by the european union against russia and the possibility that that might be effective force in some come up diplomatic settlement to this crisis? >> and hasn't been effective so far. so i don't think there's any reason to expect more sanctions will be anymore -- russian

policy has not changed. it hasn't softened. sanctions are not working. there is great doubt in europe about the counterproductive element. shooting oneself in the foot. the economy is predicted not to grow this year. they have to downgrade their forecasts. negativee necessarily growth, but it could be flat line, no growth. particularly in germany, they are concerned over that. russia has retaliated by banning all crude imports run the eu and to russia for least the next year. it is a very dangerous tit-for-tat thing. which both sides can suffer. i don't think it is having any political effect, therefore, should not be relied on. >> jonathan steele, moving on to iraq, you're also the author of the book "defeat: why america and britain lost iraq."

on thursday, president obama announced he plans to send john kerry to the middle east to help build a regional coalition of allies to isil. asked secretary kerry to drabble to the region to continue to build a coalition that is needed to meet this threat. a council reading up like isil will not be quick or easy but i'm confident we can and we will, working closely with our allies and partners. i directed secretary hagel and joint chiefs of staff to prepare a range of options. i will be meeting with my national security council again this evening as we continue to develop that strategy. >> that is president obama saying there trying to build a regional allies against the islamic state. can you talk about what is happening there? a lot has been made a lot of president obama speaking at the white house saying he hasn't developed a strategy yet. ofobviously, the beheading

james foley the other day was an appalling thing in the treatment of other captives, you mention the waterboarding and so on, by islamic state. the crucial point to remember in all of this is the main threat that islamic state poses is to other muslims, to other arabs, particularly to the shiite. to heighten this and turn them into osama bin ladens campaign against the west under al qaeda is wrong and can lead to terrible consequences of mistaken western policy. this is a threat to the region. it's only marginally a threat to western interests. that should be the first point. the second point is the military strikes by the west are not likely to be effective in the long-term. as we've seen in many places, they tend to be counterproductive and only create more recruits for the enemy you're trying to deal with. where i think obama is right is

if you sending kerry to the region, particularly to saudi arabia to tell them to do something about all this fundamentalist ideology which is pumped out from saudi arabia, the money that is going perhaps in private hands. from saudi government hands, to these atrocious militants and isis, that would be good. that is the best way to get off funding and sourcing. then the arming of the other byels by qatar and used be turkey, but that now seems to have stopped, would also be helpful. any kind of major u.s. role in military terms would be a disaster. >> is erni there any differencen the approach of britain? >> britain is hesitating. plaster, there was talks of airstrikes against syria because of chemical weapons issue. the british government voted against that.

he realizes now he cannot take military action if he has parliamentary approval and it is not at all clear he would get it. even though obama seems to want some sort of coalition and was hoping australia and britain would at least joined it in the first instance, i think britain is quite leery of that. cameron is facing election in less than a year's time. he knows the british public opinion is firmly against any military action in syria by britain. of course, this would be against the assad regime. the as regime was in cooperation withs the westa, it would bed one thing. i think it was to be counterproductive. essentially, the us is invaded -- is invading another country. >> jonathan steele, thank you for being with us, author of, "eternal russia: yeltsin, gorbachev, and the mirage of democracy."

also author of the book "defeat: about iraq and britain." we go toome back, chicago to speak with congressmember luis gutiérrez. 100 45 people got arrested in washington protesting immigration policy, or the lack thereof. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. immigrants and their allies held protests in more than a dozen cities thursday to mark what they called the national day to fight for families. they want president obama to take executive action to stem his record level of deportations.

about 140 five people were arrested in the white house after they laid red carnations over photos of deported loved ones. among those who marched in support were jonathan perez andh. stopwant obama to deportations and come up with a good plan for everybody. for everybody, not just for a few over here and a few over there. take the reins and come up with a plan. yes or no. >> i am an immigrant. so i manageddaca to work legally now. i am the only one of my family. it saddens me to know i make over half of what my mom makes in two weeks. i want her to have the opportunity to make as much money as i do, no matter what kind of work she is doing. i feel like i need to be out here in support of everyone because i want everyone to have equal rights. talks also on thursday, president obama called on congress yet again to help

address immigration reform. he suggested he would take executive action if it is the only way to address the situation. >> i have been very clear about immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. and my preference continues to be that congress act. i don't think anybody thinks that congress is going to act in the short-term, but hope springs eternal that after the midterm elections, they may act. the good news is, we asserted to make progress. what we've seen so far is throughout the summer, the number of apprehensions have been decreasing. maybe that is counterintuitive, but that means fewer folks are coming across. >> executive steps president obama could take include deferring deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants as well as providing new green cards for high-tech workers and for relatives of u.s. citizens and permanent residents. for more we're joined by

congress member luis gutiérrez, democrat of illinois. he's in chicago where this week he met with immigration advocates to repair for possible announcement from the white house -- prepare for a possible announcement from the white house. he is the chair of the immigration task force of the congressional hispanic caucus. what do you think has to happen right now? at least 145 people were arrested yesterday in washington. >> yesterday was a national day of action. they are responding because each and every day that we wait, another 1000 people are deported. every week, dozens of american children are left orphans because they lose a month or dad. our broken immigration system has an impact on immigrant communities each and every day. that is why i am heartened to hear the president said, look, for three months -- april, may, june -- i went down and gave speech after speech, alerting the republican majority that if

we did not act by the fourth of july, the president would. indeed, the president said the first week or the last week of june he was going to act. why? this speaker boehner said, we are not going to do anything. that is after the republican majority said they had a set of principles, said they were ready to work, said they were ready to move forward. i and many others worked with him and said, we understand your the majority. tell us the outline of the proposal but let's get something done. they said they wanted to do it in part. they did not want to do one bill at one time. we said, ok, let's begin. everybody can't be a citizen right away. we said, ok. let's see what are the steps for the others. they said, we cannot have the senate bill as a model. we said, let's come up with a better one. but each and every time, the republicans came up with a demand that was acquiesced to and the -- look, the president yesterday and i prefer a

legislative position. what the president can do is never going to be as great and fulfilling and permanent as what can be accomplished legislatively. solutionlegislative but the republicans have said they're not going to give us one. so then the president needs to act and use his executive authority to act. >> luis gutiérrez, what you make of the threats by some republican leaders in the house and senate that if the president does act and they believe he would be acting unconstitutionally, that they're prepared to essentially shut down holding up approval of the budget that congress must pass before the beginning of october? >> look, juan. believe the, i president is going to act in the next 30 days. that is my hope. what would stop him from acting? probably because there are some democrats in contested

senatorial races that don't want him to act until after the election. but i hope democrats say, with pencils and values and will put that good public policy ahead of politics. one of the problems democrats we ared in the past, four immigrants but we don't want to spend too much political capital defending them or lose too many ledges -- legislative seats. i would hope you would put the public policy ahead of politics. having said that, look, the republicans -- let's say obama does it. it would take three to four months from the moment he makes the decision to the time it can be implement it. you have regulations to put in place, paperwork, for millions of people to apply to the american government so they would be free from deportation and given a work permit for a couple of years.

whatg said that, i think we need to understand is the republicans can always come back to the table -- which is one of the things the president said yesterday, that hope is eternal or springs eternal, maybe they will come back in the lame-duck session and we can talk again. they can always come back. but republicans have to stop saying, we won't do anything. there is a crisis in the immigrant community. it is a damaging, hurtful, and many times, leads to death in our community. you know what? if you don't want to act and there's a crisis, we have a responsibility to use the powers we do have at the legislative branch to help. what can obama do? he can't do with the senate bill could do, but what he can do is say, i want to prioritize deportations in a way that it is meaningful to national security and respects the bonds of families and the immigrant community that has been devastated because of our immigration system.

anybody that has been in the united states -- i'm not proposing, but let's say he says anybody who has been in the u.s. for 10 years or more working has roots in the community, maybe they're married and have american citizen children. you know, ready to come forward and sign up and acknowledge who they are with the federal government, go through a rigorous background check to make sure they have no, no background whatsoever and they have been here 10 years, do you know how many people that would be? over 6 million people. i think that is what the american public will come to understand. there are millions of people that have been here in the united ways for over a decade and have no relief in the republicans want come to the table to sensibly bring a solution. rubio -- it is like a president is doing what he voted for, just not in the expensive manner. i think the other thing that has to be clear, look, we also have to understand that maybe the

president -- i believe the do 5 million to 6 million. i think he can articulate a very clear, legal framework for doing it. and come a you know, if the republicans each and every time is going to take action they want to shut down the government, they will be shut out of government and that is the only position they have. if the president does something illegal, they should use the courts, not hold hostage the rest of the people in the united states for an issue the president -- that they refuse to deal with, which they say they believe in because i have talked to them and speaker boehner said he wanted to do immigration reform. they say they want to do it, but then they don't do it and say if we do it, they will shut down the government. it is nonsense. times," afl-cio, chamber of commerce, muslims, hindus, catholics, jews --

religious communities, broad-based opinion makers in america, all the great we need to fix our broken immigration system. i like what amy brought out earlier in the program, and that fix is for the dishwasher and the woman that makes the bed in chicago, but also for the high-tech engineer, making sure he can have his spouse here in america and the agricultural industry. farmers, american farmers, they need a reliable workforce and labor force that they can rely season out. and you can't have wanted to fix our broken immigration system. 70% of those who pick our fruit and vegetables, do backbreaking work in the fields across america, our and document it. shouldn't they be given an opportunity? i think this time the president comes forward -- he has to pick a date. the date of the senate so goes back three years. immigrant he said the

youth had to be here by 2007. he went back five years. he said only immigrant youth that have been here five years or longer. he has to pick a date. but even if he goes to 10 years, it is 6.3 million people. that is a lot of people. want to not do anything. they have to remember, obama's actions are going to be actions that will be well received throughout most of america. >> what is your best guess on when he is going to make this announcement? >> here is what he said. he said he would make it by the end of the summer. notwithstanding what some democrats wanted him to do, and that is to wait until after the november elections. i hope he keeps his word and does it by the end of the summer. the protest you showed earlier today or national. there were people in dozens of

cities across america raising their voices, asking and amending the president take action. democrats to specifically, and that is, we have to be a party that has value and has principles when it comes to our immigrant community. number one, that is important for our party. number two, if you just want to ,ook at the political benefit think one moment. it is june 2012. president barack obama has a serious problem with the immigrant community. the complaints are all about his deportation. he signs daca with executive authority that he has through homeland security and says, i'm not going to deport anymore youth. what happens in italy after that? -- what happens immediately after that? the country embraced it. you heard one and document it youth after another speaking from the floor of the democratic

convention to the nation. in november, the democrats, presidential election in november 2012, got 2 million more latino votes in 2008 and got an increased percentage number. it is good public policy and it has really been demonstrated in the past that it is good politics. when i spoke to the president i said, mr. president, when you do this and you show that government can be a 12 for justice and for fairness, you do this for the immigrant community, let me tell you what is going to happen. you're going to broaden the ranks of those who care about justice and broaden the ranks of those who care about raising the minimum wage. those who care about better labor standards and those who care about our lgbt community. progressivehe movement. let's take the actions that we need, that we can demonstrate that government can be a tool for good, for justice, and fairness. if the republicans want to respond, let them respond.

what they're going to find is in america, people want men and women of action and take those actions boldly and swiftly. >> congress member gutiérrez, on another issue, this report from cbs news monday, five people died, at least 42 people, including a three-year-old boy, were wounded in shootings across chicago since friday afternoon. latest talk about this rash of shootings in chicago and what you feel needs to be done? amy, i read the paper about what is going on in syria and iraq and what is going on in ukraine. i read about the violence across the world. at the first thing i read about is the violence and my own city of chicago. around thet our arms fact that anybody can buy a gun, anybody can get a gun, we're going to have a lot of difficulty with this issue. it is a devastating one in our

neighborhood throughout the city of chicago, but also demonstrates that come yes, unemployment is going down and job growth has been increasing for the last three years, but it is skipping brought parts of our society where there is no progress. and what we need to do is we need to re-examine where it is government is putting its priority and not forget about certain parts. you know what? contain toe is so certain parts of the city of chicago that many of us in the rest of the city of chicago feel unaffected by it. in the end, they are chicagoans and we need to take good care of them and we need to provide them and the kind of economic social sustenance that they need. but at the same time, we need the tools of law and order to be there. is working with government. we need to get the guns off the streets, first and foremost, so

we can stop the weapons of violence. but there is a lot more. this is a deep-rooted problem of poverty that exists in our community. you see where it happens. it is in the poorest, most devastated neighborhoods economically and socially of the city of chicago. >> congressmember luis gutiérrez , thank you for joining us for much of the immigration task force of the congressional hispanic caucus. when we come back, a report by the aclu on the militarization of the leased apartments around the country. "the war comes home." stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. this week president obama ordered a white house lead review of federal programs that fund and distribute military quitman to state and local police.

he cited concern at how such equipment was used during a protest in ferguson, missouri after the police shooting of michael brown. one of the bearcat armored trucks used during this protest was paid for with 306 $2000 in homeland security grants. >> there's a big difference between our military and local law enforcement, and we don't want those lines blurred. that would be contrary to our traditions. i think there will be some bipartisan interest in re-examining some of those programs. >> according to pentagon data published by "the new york times," policed up arms have received tens of thousands of machine guns during the obama administration, along with danish and000 magazines, thousands of pieces of camouflage and nightvision equipment, and hundreds of silencers, armored cars, and aircraft. much of the government is used by police swat teams for what amounts to paramilitary raids on people's homes. under report by the aclu examined more than 800 of these

raids and found only 7% were virginia and emergencies. nearly 80% were used for ordinary law enforcement purposes like serving search warrants on people's homes. the report is called, "the war comes home: the excessive militarization of american policing." we're joined by the author, kara dansky, senior counsel for the aclu. what surprised you most by what is happening and if you could relate what is becoming an awareness in the mainstream media the many and different communities have talked about for a while, the militarization of police? ferguson has exploded it onto the national media scene. >> thank you for having me. that is exactly right. i think what has shocked so many americans who are watching what happened in ferguson is something that really reflects a much broader trend, which is the militarization of policing. as you say, has been going on in certain communities in the

united states for decades, fueled in large part by a series of federal programs that bring weapons and money to local law enforcement, mainly, to wage the war on drugs. which has been unfairly and aggressively fought and committed his of color for decades. i think what we saw in ferguson is shocking and i am encouraged that more and more people are coming to understand the phenomenon that militarization of policing but i think it is also important to understand it does reflect a much broader trend that has been going on in america for some time. >> kara dansky, there have been generations now of conflicts between urban police departments communities iny the united states. but as your report seems to point out, it is the weaponry that has changed, not the actual conflicts. >> certainly, the weaponry has changed quite a bit in terms of the kinds of weaponry that amy listed early on that the police are able to get free of charge

from the pentagon through what is known as the 1033 program. also the kind of weaponry that local police are able to bu directly fromy weapons manufacturers with money they received from the department of justice and department of homeland security. i think the kinds of weapons has certainly evolved and expanded in terms of what local police have access to in the kinds of weapons they use in their arsenals. say, also true, as you aggressive policing has been going on for a long time in communities of color. i also think the militarization trend reflects not only the kinds of equipment, but also a certain culture of militarism we see permeating many police departments throughout the country. >> this month, john kirby responded to criticism of the militarization of police to equipment transfers. trucks i will tell you we have rigorous compliance and accountability of standards and

biannually, they spot check many of these local law enforcement agencies in the states to make sure they're keeping proper account ability, keeping an inventory of the equipment. but we do not legislate or dig take -- dictate or mandate any kind of certain use. that is up to local law enforcement. >> kara dansky, your response? >> that is exactly right. that is a big part of the problem. we don't think the local police should be able to have unlimited discretion in terms of how they inloy military weaponry american communities. the other thing that is important to note, it is true that the defense logistics agency is required to do some checks in terms of overseeing the inventory to make sure that local police department are keeping track of the kinds of weapons that they get from the pentagon. as to raises a question

what happens when those inventories are not completed or .hen weapons go missing we know a number of police department's across the country happens is that it from the program because they simply cannot account for some of the weapons he got from the pentagon. it is appropriate to have that but it raisesght, important question which is, what happened to those weapons? >> i want to ask about some of the examples you're report cites, for example, if you could talk about the toddler was severely injured in may in georgia. >> sure. this is a really horrifying case of something that happens routinely across the country. usually, not resulting in that kind of injury, but basically what happened, a family was visiting extended family and a small town outside atlanta, georgia. they were asleep at about 3:00 in the morning and the police decided to serve as search warrant on the home where they were staying. they served that warrant at 3:00 in the morning. they were looking for a man they

suspected of having about $50 worth of drugs. they served a search warrant and used what is called a flash bang grenade. it is a grenade that detonates a loud noise. there is an explosion and deafness as well as tremendous confusion but of people who experience it. this grenade landed directly in the crib of sleeping bou bou, critically injuring him. his sisters were in the room and watched this happen. then the officers came in and help the family at gunpoint when bou bou's tried to go to him, they yelled at her to shut up and get on the ground. they held the family gun point. they ordered bou bou's father to the ground. it was hours before they were able to see their child. tragedies like that don't happen every day, but the kinds of tactics and weapons being deployed by the police in the

kinds of rates we saw happen in georgia are happening every day in america. >> kara dansky, thank you for being with us, senior counsel for the american civil liberties union and author of the new report, "the war comes home: the excessive militarization of american policing." we will link to it at democracynow.org. and that does it for our broadcast. today, a fond farewell to democracy now! video fellow whose work with us for the past back from got ferguson, missouri and it was wonderful to work with him in staten island is recover the airborne are case and protest -- eric garner case and protest. your talent and promise is immeasurable. we look forward to all you do in the future. a very happy birthday to hany massoud. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]